Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that the Central and the Assam Governments were committed to providing constitutional safeguard to the indigenous people of Assam and added that the erection of fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border has already begun.
The Home Minister said this while meeting the representatives of All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and Assam Government during a tripartite talks over the issue of implementation of the historical Assam Accord in New Delhi on Wednesday.
“The spirit of Assam Accord would not be allowed to get diluted at any cost. The Government of India and the Government of Assam are committed to a flawless NRC updation exercise in Assam and to provide Constitutional and economic safeguard to the indigenous people,” he said adding that a committee with representatives from Gove-
rnment of India, Government of Assam and AASU will be formed to ensure time-bound implementation of all clauses of the accord.
“All issues raised by AASU will be discussed in detail and implemented in a time bound manner. We are also mulling the option for second line of defense along the border for strengthening border security and checking infiltration. Besides, erection of fencing along Indo-Bangla border has already begun,” Singh said.
It may be mentioned here that this is after 12-years that a tripartite talks had been held with the involvement of Home Minister and Assam Chief Minister over the issue of Assam Accord.
“We have started a good beginning to the implementation of the Assam Accord. Today’s talks have ended on a positive note, as we have discussed in detail clause-wise time bound implementation of the accord for providing constitutional and economic safeguards to the people of Assam,” said Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Aasu Adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya said that all 60 proposals placed by AASU for clause-wise implementation of the accord were discussed threadbare in the talks. He said that they have raised the issue of forming a Special Task Force at district and state levels for detection of illegal immigrants.
“We have also suggested a bilateral agreement between Governments of India and Bangladesh for deportation of the illegal immigrants,” Bhattacharyya said.
It may be mentioned here that the Home Minister said the construction of Bogibeel Bridge would be completed within December, 2017.