GUWAHATI, Feb 23 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will face an unusual situation on February 25 when he is scheduled to accept the recommendations of the committee constituted by the Government of India for suggesting measures for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which envisages to provide constitutional protection to the Assamese people.
Sonowal, as the then president of the All Assam Students� Union (AASU) had submitted a detailed memorandum to the Government of India in the early 1990s on implementation of Clause 6, while he was also a member of the tripartite committee constituted to suggest measures to the government for implementation of that clause. Now as the Chief Minister, he will be formally accepting the recommendations of a similar committee.
In the early 1990s, the AASU had submitted a memorandum to the Government of India with a set of demands on the implementation of Clause 6. The memorandum was signed by Sonowal as the then president of the AASU and Samujjal Bhattacharya, who was the general secretary at that time.
In that memorandum, the AASU had listed a series of demands, including 100 per cent reservation of seats in Parliament, State Assembly and local bodies for indigenous people, introduction of Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in Assam, rights over land and natural resources, protection of language and culture of all indigenous people, etc. Subsequently, the Government of India formed a tripartite committee with representatives from the Central and State governments and the AASU for recommending measures for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
The committee, headed by the then Joint Secretary (North East) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) GK Pillai, was formed in 1998. Sonowal, as the then president of the AASU, was also a member of the committee, which agreed on the need for reservation of seats in Assembly, Parliament and local bodies for indigenous people.
However, the percentage of seats to be kept reserved was not decided.
Now as the State�s Chief Minister, Sonowal is all set to receive the report of a committee formed by the Government of India for recommending measures for implementing Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. He is scheduled to formally receive the report on February 25.
The report of the committee, which Sonowal is scheduled to receive, reportedly recommended 1951 as the cut-off year for identification of indigenous people and called for reservation of seats in Assembly, Parliament and local bodies. The committee also recommended introduction of ILP system and suggested right over land. The recommendations of the committee will definitely take Sonowal down the memory lane.
