NEW DELHI, July 3 - Accusing subsequent governments of neglecting implementation of the Assam Accord, the All Assam Students Union (AASU) today reiterated its demand for scrapping of two Central notifications issued in 2015, allegedly for protection of illegal migrants.
The urgency for demanding the scrapping of the Foreigners� (Amendment) Order, 2015 and the Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules, 2015 has arisen after senior BJP Central ministers have conveyed to a visiting delegation of Hindu Bengalis that the two Central notifications would guarantee their protection, even if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 is not passed by the Parliament.
Addressing a press conference at the Press Club of India here, AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya, president Dipanka Kumar Nath and general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and said that they want the Centre to scrap the two Central notifications, as well.
Bhattacharya made it clear that the AASU is a signatory of the Assam Accord and as such it should be part of implementation of all clauses of the Accord.
The AASU leaders demanded that India should sign a bilateral agreement with the Government of Bangladesh to repatriate all illegal Bangladeshi migrants. The AASU adviser recalled that the Government of India had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court informing that the Bangladesh government has agreed to take back illegal Bangladeshi migrants.
Condemning the disinformation campaign being run in and outside Assam on the citizenship Bill and the NRC exercise, the AASU leaders made it clear that they want deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants irrespective of their religion. �Our fight is not against any Hindu or Muslim, but against the illegal Bangladeshi migrants..., so please do not give it a communal colour,� Bhattacharya said.
�Some forces are trying to vitiate the atmosphere in the State, but our fight is against illegal Bangladeshis and not against any Hindu or Muslim. Please don�t do it,� he said.
Replying to a question about issue of work permit sans any political rights, Bhattacharya said that Assam has accepted the burden of the illegal migrants from 1948 up to 1971, and it cannot accept any more load.
Former Union Home Secretary GK Pillai recently advocated issue of work permit to illegal migrants without any political rights, as deportations have failed. He had also called for evolving a political consensus on the issue.
The AASU leaders lamented that after much delay, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had last year made a commitment to set a subcommittee for implementation of Clauses 6 and 7 of the Assam Accord. But a year has passed since then, with the subcommittee yet to be formed.
The AASU was also critical of the BJP governments at the Centre and in Assam, alleging that no progress has been seen during thier reign vis-a-vis implementation of the Assam Accord.
�It has been two years since the Sarbananda Sonowal government has come to power in Assam, but it is yet to see any results... There is no change of attitude,� Bhattacharya said.
