GUWAHATI, March 21 � The All Assam Students� Union, along with 26 ethnic bodies, today met the Assembly Speaker Pranab Gogoi and apprised him about their consensus on the issue of constitutional safeguards and 100 per cent seat reservation in local bodies, the State Assembly and the Parliament for �Indigenous and Indigenous Assamese� people.
The delegation representing different organisations said that considering the situation in the State after India�s independence and the prevalent process of assimilation, all the persons having their names in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) prepared on the basis of the first census of independent India in 1951, belonging to any caste, community, religion, language or tribes, and their descendents are �indigenous and indigenous Assamese� for the purpose of constitutional safeguards and seat reservation.
The ethnic bodies said that the State Assembly witnesses an uproar whenever the word khilanjiya (indigenous) or anuprabesh (infiltration) are uttered by some of the members. �On the other hand, the State has become vulnerable to the fundamentalist forces along with illegal infiltration, which cannot be ignored,� they said.
The Speaker told the delegation that their points were relevant and the issue would be discussed comprehensively at a meeting to be held on March 29, where members of various organisations and government representatives would also be present.
