By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Sept 23: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) faces criticism from various quarters from time to time on the continuity of the oust-Bangladeshi movement that it began way back in 1979. Does the AASU often forget its oust-Bangladeshi movement and wake up all of a sudden after long hibernation?
In an exclusive interview with The Sentinel on the Bangladeshi issue, AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya said: “Since the Government is armed with laws and power, it is the duty of the Government to detect and deport Bangladeshis staying illegally in the State, and organizations like the AASU can only make the people of the State aware of the problem. But why is Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi shying away from solving the Bangladeshi problem by not applying the laws that are at his disposal? When we picked up suspected Bangladeshi nationals only to hand them over to the police to ascertain their nationality status and deport the identified Bangladeshis, Gogoi was on record saying that the AASU was taking laws in its own hands. But now when the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) has been taking laws in its own hands by preventing people to move freely, the State Government is silent. Why? We challenge Gogoi that if he really loves Asom and its people, he should immediately make a public announcement that all Bangladeshis who entered Asom after March 25, 1971 should quit the State, and use the Government machinery at his disposal to make that happen.”
When asked on the would-be stand of the AASU in the event of the AAMSU blocking roads in various parts of the State in protest against the oust-Bangladeshi movement, Bhattacharya refused make any comment.
On the oust-Bangladeshi movement, Bhattacharya said: “Since the AASU is a students’ body, it has other issues too to get involved besides the oust-Bangladeshi movement, and as such the movement has to be slowed down from time to time. Various examinations also come as a hurdle for the students’ body to carry forward its oust-Bangladeshi movement without any disruption. But one thing I proud of is that it is only the AASU that has been pursuing the oust-Bangladeshi movement for such a long time without total disruption. Our aim is crystal clear. We will continue the movement till Asom is made free of all Bangladeshis. All Bangladeshis who entered the State after March 25, 1971 have to be deported to Bangladesh, and there won’t be any compromise on this issue.”
According to Bhattacharya, the crux of the illegal Bangladeshi problem is that all political parties, including the Congress, view the Bangladeshis who have been illegally staying in Asom as their vote banks, and they do not hesitate to protect them. “The recent Banderdewa incident in which about 10,000 All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) and AUDF activists blocked the national highway preventing movement of vehicles to and from Arunachal Pradesh as a mark of protest against the All Nyshi Students’ Union (ANSU) driving out about 3,000 suspected Bangladeshis from Arunachal Pradesh is a direct fallout of the Congress’ softness towards Bangladeshis,” Bhattacharya said, and added: “Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the AASU had taken the law in its own hands. Now I want to ask the Chief Minister as to why he doesn’t take the help of the laws of the land to make Asom free of ISI and other fundamentalist elements. It is due to the weakness on the part of the Congress-led Government in Asom that the State has become a hub of ISI and Islamic fundamentalists. If the current situation is allowed to continue, a Bangladeshi becoming the Chief Minister of the State cannot be ruled out.”
On the issue of AASU going slow on the oust-Bangladeshi movement, Bhattacharya said: “We want to carry forward the movement without hampering the academic atmosphere in the State. On October 1, the AASU, Karbi Students’ Association (KSA) and the Dimasa Students’ Union (DSU) will form a human chain in Guwahati to put pressure on the Government to deport Bangladeshis from the State.”
Bhattacharya further said currently the AASU has been holding public meetings in all the district headquarters seeking suggestions from the public on the issue of deportation of Bangladeshis from the State. “So far, we have held 15 such public meetings and got valuable suggestions from the people,” he said. source: sentinel assam
GUWAHATI, Sept 23: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) faces criticism from various quarters from time to time on the continuity of the oust-Bangladeshi movement that it began way back in 1979. Does the AASU often forget its oust-Bangladeshi movement and wake up all of a sudden after long hibernation?
In an exclusive interview with The Sentinel on the Bangladeshi issue, AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya said: “Since the Government is armed with laws and power, it is the duty of the Government to detect and deport Bangladeshis staying illegally in the State, and organizations like the AASU can only make the people of the State aware of the problem. But why is Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi shying away from solving the Bangladeshi problem by not applying the laws that are at his disposal? When we picked up suspected Bangladeshi nationals only to hand them over to the police to ascertain their nationality status and deport the identified Bangladeshis, Gogoi was on record saying that the AASU was taking laws in its own hands. But now when the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) has been taking laws in its own hands by preventing people to move freely, the State Government is silent. Why? We challenge Gogoi that if he really loves Asom and its people, he should immediately make a public announcement that all Bangladeshis who entered Asom after March 25, 1971 should quit the State, and use the Government machinery at his disposal to make that happen.”
When asked on the would-be stand of the AASU in the event of the AAMSU blocking roads in various parts of the State in protest against the oust-Bangladeshi movement, Bhattacharya refused make any comment.
On the oust-Bangladeshi movement, Bhattacharya said: “Since the AASU is a students’ body, it has other issues too to get involved besides the oust-Bangladeshi movement, and as such the movement has to be slowed down from time to time. Various examinations also come as a hurdle for the students’ body to carry forward its oust-Bangladeshi movement without any disruption. But one thing I proud of is that it is only the AASU that has been pursuing the oust-Bangladeshi movement for such a long time without total disruption. Our aim is crystal clear. We will continue the movement till Asom is made free of all Bangladeshis. All Bangladeshis who entered the State after March 25, 1971 have to be deported to Bangladesh, and there won’t be any compromise on this issue.”
According to Bhattacharya, the crux of the illegal Bangladeshi problem is that all political parties, including the Congress, view the Bangladeshis who have been illegally staying in Asom as their vote banks, and they do not hesitate to protect them. “The recent Banderdewa incident in which about 10,000 All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) and AUDF activists blocked the national highway preventing movement of vehicles to and from Arunachal Pradesh as a mark of protest against the All Nyshi Students’ Union (ANSU) driving out about 3,000 suspected Bangladeshis from Arunachal Pradesh is a direct fallout of the Congress’ softness towards Bangladeshis,” Bhattacharya said, and added: “Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the AASU had taken the law in its own hands. Now I want to ask the Chief Minister as to why he doesn’t take the help of the laws of the land to make Asom free of ISI and other fundamentalist elements. It is due to the weakness on the part of the Congress-led Government in Asom that the State has become a hub of ISI and Islamic fundamentalists. If the current situation is allowed to continue, a Bangladeshi becoming the Chief Minister of the State cannot be ruled out.”
On the issue of AASU going slow on the oust-Bangladeshi movement, Bhattacharya said: “We want to carry forward the movement without hampering the academic atmosphere in the State. On October 1, the AASU, Karbi Students’ Association (KSA) and the Dimasa Students’ Union (DSU) will form a human chain in Guwahati to put pressure on the Government to deport Bangladeshis from the State.”
Bhattacharya further said currently the AASU has been holding public meetings in all the district headquarters seeking suggestions from the public on the issue of deportation of Bangladeshis from the State. “So far, we have held 15 such public meetings and got valuable suggestions from the people,” he said. source: sentinel assam
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