Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said during his visit to strife-torn Assam that the Centre was aware of the presence of a huge quantity of illegal arms in the Bodo districts though he was silent about where they came from. He asserted that the government would do something about it but remained delightfully vague about how it proposed to go about it. He stressed the need for the early return of displaced people to their respective villages but could not set a deadline. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was more positive and said that the state government would fix a 15-day deadline to send the displaced people to their villages. They should not worry about their land as nobody would be allowed to take it away. P. Chidambaram was specific about the steps to be taken. “We will not only help them rebuild their houses, but also provide them security in their villages”, he said.
The BJP leader, L.K. Advani who was also in Assam came out with some platitudes following his visit to Kokrajhar. “It is a matter of shame for the country”, he said. The BJP can never wash its hands of incitement to communal violence in various parts of India from time to time. The observation that the incidents are all the more disgraceful as the Prime Minister has been sent to the Rajya Sabha from Assam is beside the point and only an instance of politicking. It is a pity that Chidambaram skirted the main issue that there were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh who were involved in the clashes. He said that the issue could be addressed in due course of time. But it has been plaguing Assam for a long time and the Centre should take it up with Bangladesh with a sense of urgency. Unless it is done, Chidambaram’s promise that peace and harmony will be ensured and confidence instilled in the people of the area will seem hollow.
