GUWAHATI, Feb 19: The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) today alleged that Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has lowered his stature by ‘using’ his Cabinet colleague to mock Assam Accord’s Clause 6 implementation issue.
AJP general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan alleged that the State government has taken an escapist stance over the report of the high level panel constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). He also took a jibe at Sonowal by questioning whether he is the Chief Minister of Assam in the real sense of the term.
The regional party attacked Sonowal for being grossly ignorant about the components of the report that was handed over to him by the panel in February, 2020.
It needs mention here that State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent comment on the recommendations of the MHA-panel has stirred up the hornet’s nest in the State, with reactions coming from various quarters over the fate of the high level committee’s recommendations. Sarma had said that the committee’s recommendations were far from legal reality and against several rulings of the Supreme Court.
“The Clause 6 of Assam Accord speaks of constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards. It was the BJP government’s commitment to provide protection to indigenous people of Assam on all three fronts. The Centre had also made tall claims about implementing the report within one week of its submission, without even changing the commas and full stops,” the AJP said.
Referring to the three legal experts, Justice (retd) Biplab Kumar Sarma, Nilay Dutta and Ramesh Chadra Borpatra Gohain, who were part of the 14-member committee, AJP said that Sonowal should apologies to the legal luminaries for questioning their proficiency.
“The report clearly speaks of the required constitutional amendments for implementing Clause 6. By triggering a controversy around the issue, the Sonowal government is trying to create confusion about this long pending demand of the people of Assam,” added Bhuyan.
The AJP also pointed out that several issues, including land protection, reservation for the State’s youth in State government and private jobs in Assam, etc., fall under the responsibility of the State government. “Several States of the country have already taken steps to ensure these protections to their indigenous people. The Assam government’s ignorance over such matters is unfortunate and pitiable,” it added.
