GUWAHATI, Dec 1 - The All Assam Students� Union (AASU) today asked the BJP-led State government and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to be sincere on their part in the ongoing NRC update process. The student body said history would not pardon Sonowal and his government if they fail to deliver in this crucial exercise.
�The NRC update process is now passing through a critical stage. It is time for the government to do their best to eliminate the names of illegal Bangladeshis from the NRC through the claims and objections process. But now we have not seen any such initiative from the government�s side. Rather it is making some irresponsible comments on the issue,� a statement issued by AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath and general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said.
They said that Sonowal has enough space to work for elimination of names of illegal Bangladeshis from the final NRC through administrative mechanism, but if he does not do so, then there is every possibility of inclusion of illegal migrants� names in the NRC.
�The State government is yet to start any investigation to detect the illegal Bangladeshis whose names were included in the final draft of NRC. That means the BJP-led government is trying to safeguard them. The Chief Minister has the authority to detect Bangladeshis through the administrative mechanism and it is a must-do for the government, as the claims and objections process is under way,� AASU adviser Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya said.
Bhattacharya said that if Sonowal really loved the people of Assam and the Assamese society, �then from today onwards let him work to detect illegal Bangladeshis. We challenge him to do so. The AASU will continue its movement until we get an NRC without a single name of illegal Bangladeshi.�
AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said even if the name of a single Bangladeshi was included in the NRC, the Chief Minister would be responsible for it. It is time for him to do his duty for the Assamese people.
The AASU reiterated its demand to start the biometric data collection work in the State immediately.
