Assam govt fails to protect indigenous people, deports only 2500 illegal foreigners in past 32 years: Prabajan Virodhi Manch

Accusing failure of the government steps to protect indigenous people of the state, Prabajan Virodhi Manch (PVM) on Sunday said the state government has always given red carpets to the illegal immigrants to the state.

“Immigrants from the neighbouring country Bangladesh are still continued and the government is totally failed to protect it. Until December 3, 2004, all those children born of foreigners in Assam will get citizenship by birth, even though both parents will be foreigners. This jeopardizes the future generations of indigenous people and it is therefore essential that government job, government contracts, seats in educational institutions, particularly mediacl and engineering should be on a 1951 basis that is those who were citizens of India and residents in Assam in 1951 and their progeny,” convenor of PVM and lawyer of Supreme Court Upamanyu Hazarika said.

Hazarika further said that, the committee headed by Hari Shankar Brahma has its interim report recommended the base year for reservation of land for indigenous people should be 1951.

“We welcome this recommendation and expect the government to implement this by enacting a legislation by the Assam assembly. This has been a long standing demand of the indigenous people. In the report submitted to the SC by the commission, appointed by the court this recommendation had been made in October 2015, the report being accepted by the court including the both Union and state government, but which was not acted upon,” Hazarika said.

The Convenor of PVM said that, land reservation alone will not protect the indigenous.

“Illegal Bangladeshis are enabled by some corrupt government officials to encroach land and get all benefits, like housing, toilets, schools, health centre etc. Such benefits should being granted only on a 1951 basis, as it will be a deterrent to corrupt officials,” Hazarika said.

The PVM said in past 38 years since the beginning of the Assam movement, the leaders of the movement have only secured their own future.

“It is time that, they now secure the future of the indigenous people of Assam,” Upamanyu Hazarika said.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)