Eviction: Madrasa students threaten AASU leader

The expulsion of suspected Bangladeshi migrants by Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland into Assam in the past two weeks and the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) accusing the state Government of protecting them has taken a new turn with the All Assam Madrasa Students’ Union threatening AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya and banning his entry into the Bengali-dominated Barak Valley.

A statement issued by Saleh Ahmed Mazumdar, president of the Hailakandi district unit of the AASU, accused the AASU adviser (who is also the chairman of the Northeast Students’ Organisation) of spreading hatred against the religious minority and vowed to ban entry of Bhattacharyya into the Barak Valley.

The AASU, however, dismissed the threat as “nonsense” with AASU General Secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi saying its adviser would visit Hailakandi on August 9 to attend a conference of the district students’ union. Earlier, the All Assam Minority Students’ union had criticised the AASU for its stand against Bangladeshi migrants.