GUWAHATI: The All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU) has categorically ruled out any agreement that violated the provisions of the Assam Accord 1985 and submitted a memorandum to Union home minister, Amit Shah during the course of meeting at Assam House in New Delhi on Saturday.
Along with consultations with various organisations, groups and parties, views of AAMSU on the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), issues related to National Register of Citizens (NRC) and implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, 1985, were heard by the Union home minister in the presence of Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Centre, which is planning to table and pass CAB during the ongoing winter session of Parliament, is looking to take parties, organisations and civil society groups of Assam and the Northeast to confidence before coming out with a “modified” draft on the contentious legislation.
In a statement issued to the media here, AAMSU adviser, Azizur Rahman, who represented the students union along with AAMSU president, Rejaul Karim Sarkar, said that the provisions of the Assam Accord, 1985 accepted by all sections of society must be kept intact at any cost in the interest of the country and state of Assam.
“National Identity Cards need to be issued to persons included in final NRC published on August 31, 2019, as per Rule 13 of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003,” the students union stated in the memorandum addressed to the Union home minister.
Besides, the union requested that free, fair, reasonable and adequate opportunity need to be provided to those excluded from final NRC for appeals as per provisions of the Schedule to Rule 4A of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
AAMSU further requested Shah to restrain the high-level committee that was constituted earlier this year, from exceeding the provisions of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.