GUWAHATI, Sept 5 - Both the Opposition and the ruling parties today said that diluting the provisions of the historic Assam Accord would be detrimental to the interest of the people of the State. Taking part in a discussion on a resolution moved in the State Legislative Assembly by Congress MLA Abdul Khalek during the last session, the members demanded implementation of the Clause 6 of the Accord.
Starting the discussion, former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said that even the Union government during the tripartite talk held in April this year had stated that the spirit of the Accord would not be diluted.
However, raising concern over the disappearance of 41,000 foreigners identified by the court, Mahanta stated that the Government of India must take up the matter with Dhaka so that Bangladeshis identified by the court are accepted back by the neighbouring country.
�If the spirit of the Clause 6 has to be kept intact, both the Union and the State governments should come forward to implement it without dilution,� he added.
Supporting the implementation of the Accord, Sherman Ali Ahmed of Congress, however, said that the doubts and apprehensions in the minds of a section of people must be cleared ahead of the Accord implementation.
�Wide use of the term �indigenous� people, instead of the word �Assamese� has made a section of the people think whether their existence is threatened. It is necessary to clear whether a huge section of people, brought by the British from different parts of the country to work in the tea gardens fall under the category of indigenous people. If they do, what is the status of another section of people brought during the same time period from Bengal for the purpose of cultivation,� he said.
He further said the growing concern of people regarding the population explosion of a particular community must be scientifically studied before arriving at any conclusion. �The actual causes of a rise in the population of that particular section of people are lack of awareness, literacy and health care facilities, which need remedial measures,� he added.
