Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on friday announced that the state was planning to issue identity cards to daily-wagers belonging to the minority community so that they were not harassed in the pretent of identifying Bangladeshi infiltrators.Announcing this at a press conference, Gogoi said his Government was concerned about certain quarters trying to dub all daily-wage labourers belonging to the religious minority community as Bangladeshi infiltrators. The Chief Minister said the I-cards would help prevent unwarranted harassment.“The Government cannot allow harassment of any member of the minority community,” the CM said, adding that a number of NGOs were pressing for protective measures for the minority labourers. The CM first made the announcement at an iftaar organised by the All Assam Daily-Wage Labourers Association in Dispur last evening. He also assured them that his Government would stop all kinds of harassment on minority community labourers.The announcement has come just ahead of panchayat elections in the state. The Congress is concerned that a major chunk of Muslims, particularly those of erstwhile East Bengal/East Pakistan origin, might vote in favour of the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) headed by Badruddin Ajmal. The identity card proposal also comes at a time when the ULFA is accused of scaring away Hindi-speaking labourers to allegedly make room for Bangladeshi infiltrators at the instance of the ISI and DGFI of Bangladesh. Gogoi, however, clarified that a decision in this regard was yet to be taken. “We are for issuing such identity cards. But right now the matter is only under examination,” the Chief Minister said. Deputy commissioners and block-level officers in every district would issue such identity cards, the CM said. “This measure will also help check infiltration,” he pointed out.However, the idea has been almost immediately shot down by the All Assam Students’ Union, with its leaders saying it was nothing but another scheme to protect the interests of Bangladeshi infiltrators. “How can a Government issue identity cards to people without first ascertaining their citizenship status? This is just another move to legitimise illegal migrants,” said AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharyya.
