GUWAHATI, Oct 26 - The All Assam Students� Union (AASU) is set to witness a change of guard next month during its conference to be held in Duliajan and there is strong possibility of a few senior leaders of the organization resigning from the students� body to start their political careers. However, leaders of the AASU have maintained that the apolitical character of the AASU would be strictly maintained.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said that though the AASU played a role in the formation of the Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP), the apolitical character of the organization would be maintained. He said that the AASU had only created an environment for the formation of AJP because there was need for a strong regional force in the State. �The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) betrayed the people of Assam. The leaders of the AGP had claimed that they were opposed to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, but the MP from the party voted in favour of the Bill in Parliament. Moreover, the AGP did not come out of the alliance with the BJP despite the fact that the CAA violated the foundation of the Assam Accord,� he added.
In the interest of creation of a strong regional force, the AASU had set up an advisory committee, which played the major role in the creation of the AJP and the AASU�s role was to create an environment for the new party, Gogoi said. He said that any member of the AASU, who wants to join a political party, would have to resign from the students� body. He said that the AASU would see a change of guard in the conference to be held in Duliajan from November 18 to 21. There is a possibility that some leaders may resign and join politics. But it is still not decided who will stay back and who will resign, he said.
Gogoi said that the present committee of the AASU assumed charge of May 1, 2016 and most of its time was spent on putting pressure on the Government for implementation of the Assam Accord. He said that during the tenure of the present committee, the AASU held a national seminar in Delhi to highlight the failure of successive Governments at the Centre to implement the Assam Accord. He said that the AASU played a key role in the committee set up to recommend measures for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
However, he lamented that the Centre did not keep its word on implementing the recommendations of the committee and now the people of the State would have to agitate again to force the Government to implement it.
The AASU general secretary also said that the anti-CAA movement, which had to be suspended because of the lockdown following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been resumed and it would be intensified in the days to come by maintaining the COVID protocols.
Gogoi further said that several recommendations given by the AASU were incorporated in the National Education Policy and the students� body would soon hold talks with educationists on the policy announced by the Government.
The AASU has also played the role of catalyst in providing self employment opportunities to the youths in agriculture and allied sectors in the last few years and it would be pursued vigorously in the days to come to arrest the flight of capital to outside.
