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AASU differs with Modi on migrants issue

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Feb 23 � Reacting sharply to the statement made by BJP�s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at Silchar on Saturday, favouring shelter for Hindu refugees of Bangladesh, the All Assam Students� Union (AASU) today said that division of illegal migrants on the basis of religion was totally unacceptable, and all post-1971 migrants must leave Assam as settled in the Assam Accord.

The AASU further ruled out removal of detention camps for keeping illegal migrants (declared by courts as illegal migrants) till their deportation to Bangladesh � something suggested by Modi during his speech.

�Detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants is a burning issue, with disturbing implications for the State� Modi seems to be unaware of the ground reality in Assam. Division of illegal migrants on the basis of religion is unjustified and all illegal migrants will have to leave the State. The detention camps, too, are needed to keep the illegal migrants till they are deported, as they invariably do the disappearing act once pronounced as foreigners by the courts,� the AASU said in a statement.

On the issue of �D� voters (persons whose citizenship status is pending in the court), the AASU said that the matter was a legal process and the Election Commission of India also accepted it.

�Rather than playing politics on the issue of �D� voters, the government would do well to expedite the legal process of determining the citizenship of doubtful voters. The issue of �D� voters must be resolved only through the judicial process,� it added.

Pointing out that Modi has been silent on the issue of constitutional safeguards for the State�s indigenous populace as mentioned in the Assam Accord, the AASU said that the Congress government had failed for close to three decades to implement the crucial provisions of the Accord.

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