GUWAHATI: Anti-infiltration forum, Prabajan Virodhi Manch has termed the Union Cabinet’s decision to provide safeguards to indigenous communities in Assam as “insubstantial” and instead demanded a legislation reserving land, jobs and other benefits for the communities.
The Cabinet had on Wednesday approved the setting up of a high-level committee for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord which envisages constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.
Addressing the media here on Thursday, Upamanyu Hazarika, convener of the Manch said the Cabinet decision was more like a statement of intent rather than a specific step to safeguard the indigenous people and save them from becoming a minority.
“Such a decision required parliamentary sanction and therefore cannot be fulfilled before the Lok Sabha elections. Therefore, the Assam government should immediately convene an emergent session of the state Assembly and pass a legislation similar to the one passed by the BJP-led Manipur Assembly (in July 2018) reserving land, employment and other benefits for the indigenous communities,” Hazarika, also a Supreme Court lawyer, said.
“Without reservation of land and government employment benefits, such seat reservation will be of no benefit as the elected indigenous representatives will only cater to and be dependent on their Bangladeshi voters – who form majority in several constituencies,” he said.
Hazarika said that apart from reservation of land and jobs, two other essential steps to be taken are re-verification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and scrapping of instruments such as the Citizenship Amendment Bill to prevent entry of foreigners into the state.
“As part of an anti-influx movement, the Manch has been campaigning across the state to make people aware on the three steps to be taken by the government before January 31, 2019,” he said, while cautioning that names of a large number of foreigners have been included in the NRC draft.
The Manch further belittled the Cabinet statement as “another set of pre-poll promises” as against taking concrete, result-oriented action which is the need of the hour.
“The clarification by the Central Cabinet that land policy and related safeguards of jobs and trade licences, etc will be framed and given by the state government demonstrates that effective safeguards are within the domain of the state government and state legislature. It also points to the fact that the state government has for the past two and half years has shirked responsibility and failed to live up to the core election promise of protecting the indigenous people and their rights,” Hazarika said.