Allaying fears surrounding the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today said providing security to the people of the state is the primary duty of the government.
Meeting the representatives of 29 students and Indigenous peoples organisations led by the All Assam Students Union here, Sonowal appealed the people of the state not to be apprehensive over the proposed bill as the government would not do anything that would hurt the interests of the people of the state, said an official release.
Sonowal said he has already held talks with the senior citizens, intellectuals, journalists and editors and informed everybody that the state government would not compromise with the inherent interests of the people of the state.
Sharing the message given by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his meeting with him in Delhi, Sonowal said the Centre, before taking any decision on the bill, would consult the people of Assam and all sections of the people would be taken into confidence.
The release also said Sonowal made it clear that the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) is a primary agenda of the government as it is providing all logistic support for a complete and flawless NRC, the updation of which is going on under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
Sonowal said the state government has been working in accordance with the aims and aspirations of the people of Assam.
Sonowal also appealed to all organisations and sections of the people of Assam to show restraint and help maintain law and order after the draft publication of the NRC on June 30, the way they cooperated with the government after the publication of the first draft on December 31 last year.
On the demand made by different organisations including AASU for signing a bilateral agreement with Bangladesh for the deportation of illegal Bangladeshi nationals living in Assam, Sonowal assured them to send the proposal to the Centre for a concrete step on the issue.
He said that to claim ownership on land, people need land deeds. After coming to power, the present government took steps to form a committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Election Commissioner Harishankar Brahma and the state government would implement the recommendations of the committee to ensure ownership of the indigenous people on land.
Further, the state government would take up a time bound action plan for the implementation of the Assam Accord and a comprehensive and exhaustive mechanism would be adopted for the protection of tribal belt and block, constitutional safeguard of indigenous people of the state.
The State government is working in tandem with the Centre for sealing of the remaining portions of the Indo-Bangla border by December 31 this year, said the release quoting him.
He also informed that the government is taking the help of barbed wire fencing, smart fencing as well as technological solutions for sealing the entire stretch of the international border that Assam shares with Bangladesh.
"Government is committed to ensure the implementation of all clauses of the Assam Accord and it is with the spirit of the Accord that the government is extending all possible support for a correct NRC which will be a landmark achievement of the government, Sonowal added.
The chief minister, a former president of AASU, also said that the government would undertake frequent dialogues with the student bodies in the near future.
Meanwhile, AASU Chief Adviser Dr Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharjya told reporters that the 29 ethic community organisations' stand opposing the Citizenship bill will remain till the bill is withdrawn even while talks with the government continues.
He said all the indigenous students organisations including AASU have complete faith and trust on the leadership of Sonowal.
Among others, AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath, General Secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi, General Secretary of All Assam Tribal Sangha Aditya Khaklari, president of All Bodo Students Union Promod Bodo, Advisor of All Koch Rajbongshi Students Union Hiteshwar Barman and office bearers of other organisations in the meeting put forward their suggestions on the current situations of the state.
Chief Secretary T Y Das, Principal Secretary Home and Political L S Changsan, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Sanjay Lohiya and several senior officers were present at the meeting, the release added.
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