GUWAHATI, Dec 9 - The All Assam Students� Union (AASU) is of the view that the committee formed by the government to give suggestions on implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord must reflect the sentiments of the indigenous people of the State in its report to be submitted to the Centre.
Meanwhile, the students� body is also holding talks with the organisations which were involved with the Assam movement so that they can also be involved in the anti- Citizenship (Amendment) Bill movement.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya pointed out that the Government of India had agreed to provide constitutional safeguard to the indigenous people of Assam through Clause 6 of the Accord because Assam had to take the burden of the foreigners who came to the State during the period from 1951 to 1971.
Bhattacharya pointed out that the Centre should not equate the CAB with Clause 6 of the Accord as the CAB would violate Clause 5 of the Accord, which is not acceptable.
Bhattacharya said that the members of the Committee on Clause 6 of the Accord visited different parts of the State to obtain views of cross sections of people. The committee is scheduled to meet again soon. However, he asserted that the committee must reflect the sentiments of the indigenous people against the Centre�s effort to impose the CAB in its report.
�The committee has the mandate of working for the indigenous people of the State and it is the duty of the committee to reflect the sentiments of the people in its report,� he added.
Replying to a question on the ongoing movement against the CAB, the AASU chief adviser said that the AASU and 30 organisations representing different ethnic groups of the State have already launched a movement and it would be intensified in the days to come. �There is no question of accepting the CAB,� he asserted.
Giving details of AASU�s recent talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue, Bhattacharya said that though the discussion lasted for more than an hour, it was not fruitful because the Home Minister kept on insisting that the CAB was a commitment of the BJP. �The Home Minister did not have a clear-cut answer to the issues raised by the AASU and finally we told him that the people of Assam would never accept any attempt by the government to impose CAB,� he added.
