From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) has appealed to all sections of people and organisations in Assam to refrain from making any communal statements which are likely to trigger an untoward situation and disrupt normality post publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on August 31.
The union—while reiterating its stand for a “foreigner-free” NRC to include, in the final list, all persons submitting legal pre-March 25, 1971 documents—urged the government to take all measures to ensure peace in the state.
Addressing the media here on Saturday, representatives of AAMSU also warned of a democratic agitation if the NRC authorities ignore the Supreme Court directives with regard to inclusion of genuine citizens with legal documents and exclusion of those without legal documents.
“People belonging to religious and linguistic minorities in Assam have had to face immense hardships in the name of verification and hearings. Despite such an ordeal, the religious and linguistic minorities have been tolerant and have cooperated with the NRC authorities during the process. So, we reiterate our demand that the Supreme Court-monitored NRC should not exclude any legal citizen,” Abdur Rahman Biswas, general secretary, AAMSU, said.
Biswas further said that AAMSU would fully cooperate in regard to implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which provides Constitutional safeguards to the cultural, social and linguistic identity of the Assamese people.
“However, we will oppose any move to insert any change in any word/sentence pertaining to Clause 6 of the Accord,” he warned.
The AAMSU leader also called for inclusion of at least two persons from religious and linguistic minority communities in the high-level committee recently constituted by the Centre so that resolutions subsequently adopted with regard to implementation of Clause 6 of the Accord are “impartial” and acceptable to all sections.