GUWAHATI, July 21 � Terming Tarun Gogoi a �surrendered Chief Minister� for suspending the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update process following protests from the All Minorities Students� Union in Barpeta and Chaygaon revenue circles, the All Assam Students� Union (AASU) bracketed Gogoi and the minority students� body together as protectors of Bangladeshis in the State.
Further lashing out on both, AASU adviser Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya questioned their integrity behind their respective acts and said that the NRC update process cannot be put to halt under any circumstances.
�Gogoi�s decision to suspend the update process once again proved why it took five years to start the process even after a decision on this was taken at the Prime Minister�s level in 2005. If he cannot handle the situation, let him quit the post,� Dr Bhattacharya said.
The pilot project of the NRC update process began in Barpeta and Chaygaon revenue circles from June 1.
He went on to allege that Gogoi�s decision to suspend the update process was taken to woo the Bangladeshi vote bank.
The students� leader slammed AAMSU saying that the organisation is working at the behest of Bangladeshi lobby and demanded the administration take stern action against those hampering the update process.
�AAMSU is the brainchild of Congress but at no cost would they be allowed to play with the interest of the indigenous people. The NRC would be updated with 1971 as the base year and anyone whose name does not figure in that voters� list, be it Hindu, Muslim or the ones belonging to any other religion will have to leave the country,� Dr Bhattacharya stated.
�The vested interest circles would now either try to gain political mileage from the incident or try to give it a communal colour. We appeal to all the people who came to the State before 1971 to help in update of the NRC and thwart any attempt of these anti-national circles,� he urged.
AASU general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi warned of a large-scale movement if the update process is not resumed.
The students� body also warned that attacks on the indigenous people would never be tolerated.
