AASU has also demanded that the Indo-Bangladesh along the river should be secured with modern systems along with the borders on the land by 2018, adding that floodlights and a second line of defence should be added.
During the tripartite talks held on Wednesday with the All Assam Students Union and the Assam government, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the "spirit of the Assam Accord will not be diluted at any cost." Meeting leaders of the student union after a gap of 12 years, Singh said the Centre is closely following the implementation of the Accord, and will ensure that the upgradation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be carried out flawlessly, and the indigenous people of Assam will be provided their rightful Constitutional and economic safeguards. Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal, too, was present at the meet.
Singh said that a tripartite nine-member committee, which was discontinued will be revived, to see that the Accord is implemented smoothly and timely. "All issues raised by AASU will be discussed in detail and implemented in a time-bound manner. We are also mulling the option for second line of defense along the border for strengthening border security and checking infiltration. Besides, erection of fencing along Indo-Bangla border has already begun," Singh told reporters after the meeting.
In the meeting, AASU submitted over 60 clauses of the Assam Accord, of which the Centre agreed to a few, adding that discussions on the rest will be ongoing. The Centre also assured the AASU that the NRC will be upgraded without the inclusion of name of any undocumented individuals. It was also mutually decided in the meeting that a task force will be constituted in every district for a smooth implementation. AASU has also put forward a demand that an extradition treaty with Bangladesh be formed, under which undocumented individuals are deported. Home Secretary Mehrishi assured them that a deportation procedure is under process.
AASU has also demanded that the Indo-Bangladesh along the river should be secured with modern systems along with the borders on the land by 2018, adding that floodlights and a second line of defence should be added.
The student body has also demanded that any individuals on the border should be shot at sight. To this, Assam CM Sonowal said that all possible methods will be deployed to secure the borders.
"The talks are historic and we are hopeful that our demands are met. Since the Centre said that the clauses of the Assam Accord will not be diluted, we are hopeful that the cut-off date will be 1972. This is the first time that we've held talks with a NDA government, and we were instantly told what was going to work out and what was not," said AASU president Dipanko Kumar Nath.
The talks hold significance as the BJP government, which rose to power on the poll plank of sending back undocumented individuals to Bangladesh, has been saying that only Muslims will be sent back, while Hindus will be given a shelter by the state. This has angered the AASU, who demand that every undocumented individual must be sent back, irrespective of their religion. This comes at a time when the state government has missed two deadlines for the upgradation of the NRC — December 2016, and then March, 2017 — and had announced a deadline of December 2017. AASU has also opposed the Citizen Amendment Bill, 2016.
In the meet held at the North Block, the Centre was represented by home secretary Rajeev Mehrishi and MHA Joint Secretary (Northeast) Satyendra Garg. The Assam government was represented by state minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, Assam Chief Secretary VK Pipersenia, Principal Secretary (Home) Hemanta Narzary, Resident Commissioner Rwitticka Kalita, and Commissioner and Secretary (Home) LS Changsan. AASU was represented by its president Dipanko Kumar Nath, general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi, adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya and educationist Basanta Deka.
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