From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: The opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Friday organised a massive rally of its supporters and people in the city to register its protest against the ‘failure’ of the State government to stop occurrence of violence in Bodoland Territorial Council (BCT) and adjoining areas as well as the demand deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants from the State.
The AGP rally which disrupted traffic in the heart of the city for few hours, was led by its senior leaders including the party president and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.
The regional party also demanded implementation of Assam Accord of 1985 and updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state for solution of the burning problem of illegal migrants threatening to outnumber the indigenous population in the state.
Formed by leaders of the Assam Agitation against Bangladeshi migrants, the AGP leaders raised slogans against government’s alleged failure to check infiltration and detect and deport illegal foreigners.
The problem of illegal migrants from Bangladesh has come to the fore in the wake of the clashes between Bodo tribe and migrant Muslims in BTC and adjoining areas in the State.
The All Assam Students Union (AASU) also took out a similar rally in Sivasagar in Upper Assam against violence and unabated illegal migration from Bangladesh.
Several citizens’ organizations, journalists unions and other like-minded organizations brought out protest rally at Tezpur in Sonitpur district of Assam on the same issues on Friday.
The issue of illegal migrants and porous border had come to the fore once again after the recent riots in western Assam.
Meanwhile, Bodo People’s Front (BPF) which is power in the BTC has made it clear that citizenship of violence-displaced people must be established in relief camps before they are rehabilitated so that no illegal migrants from Bangladesh are get settled in the BTC area on the sly.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has already assured that his government will rehabilitate only genuine India citizens who were displaced by violence.
He also informed that Assam government would complete the process of updating the NRC in the State within three years and the first phase of the work would cover 42 legislative assembly constituencies. (With inputs from UNI)