GUWAHATI, Nov 26: Tripartite talks between the Centre, Assam government and AASU regarding the implementation of the Assam Accord is likely to take place by January next year, the assembly was informed on Wednesday.
Replying to a query from AGP MLA Ramendra Narayan Kalita, Implementation of Assam Accord Minister Atul Bora said All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has requested the government to hold tripartite talks for the execution of Justice (Retd.) Biplab Kumar Sharma Committee report on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
“The CM has taken an initiative in this regard and contacted the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Accordingly, tripartite talks are likely by January,” he added.
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The minister also said that the Justice Sharma Committee report on the Assam Accord has made 67 recommendations, of which 40 fall under the jurisdiction of the state government.
On February 25, 2020, the committee had submitted its report on the implementation of Assam Accord to the then chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal for handing it over to Union Home Minister Amit Shah as the High-Level Committee (HLC) was formed by the Centre.
In October 2021, the Assam government had set up an eight-member committee to prepare a framework within three months for the implementation of all clauses of the 40-year-old Assam Accord, especially Clause 6.
As per Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.
The Assam government and the AASU, in September last year, for the first time discussed the implementation of Justice Sharma committee’s recommendations on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord to protect the interests of the indigenous population.
The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 after a six-year-long violent anti-foreigner movement. It stated, among other clauses, that the names of all foreigners coming to Assam on or after March 25, 1971 would be detected, deleted from the electoral rolls and steps would be taken to deport them.
Bora further said that a total of 1,35,901 people have been identified as illegal foreigners in the state since 1971, but only 30,130 of them have been deported so far. (PTI)
