GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday hailed the restraint and patience shown by the people of Assam more particularly the residents of Barak Valley in view of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s inflammatory remarks and her decision of sending a delegation to Barak Valley with an evil design to polarize the society, in the aftermath of publication of complete draft updated NRC in the state.
Sonowal also thanked the people of Barak Valley for the exemplary composure that they exhibited without falling prey to the divisive design of the external forces.
Sonowal also expressed his gratitude to the Bengali-speaking people and different organizations scattered across the state for unequivocally registering their protests against West Bengal Chief Minister’s plan of polarizing the state.
He also stated that since the very beginning of process of updating the NRC, some vested interests were hell-bent in destabilising the process by making remarks inimical to the age-old unity prevailing among the people of valleys of Barak, Brahmaputra, hills and plains. He however, said that in spite of all evil intensions, people of Assam showcased a remarkable composure and strengthened the friendship and camaraderie among themselves.
Sonowal moreover said, “Assam is a land known for its unity since ages. People belonging to different castes, community, creed and religion symbolize unity which is unique”. Though several attempts were made to disturb this unity, people of Assam showed resilience and reinforced the state’s unity”, Sonowal added.
Sonowal reiterated that the NRC was being updated under direct supervision of the Supreme Court of India with active role of the Register General of India (RGI) and it is a document to safeguard the interest of the people of Assam.
Sonowal condemning the alleged move of external forces to vitiate the peaceful environment in the name of NRC, said that people of Barak, Brahmaputra, hills and plains would never be misled by such evil design.
He pointed out that the recently published document was just a draft of the NRC. Moreover, all genuine Indian citizens whose names did not feature in the draft, need not worry, as they would get ample opportunities to get their names enrolled through disposal of claims and objections.