Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will head the Group of Ministers (GoM) announced today to study the Supreme Court ruling on the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act and decide on further action. The Supreme Court has struck down the IMDT Act as unconstitutional, saying the Centre had not done its duty to protect Assam from ‘‘external aggression’’, thereby encouraging rampant illegal migration from Bangladesh. Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs had decided to set up a GoM at a meeting today. The GoM will hear out various parties and advise the Government on what needs to be done. Patil said the Home and Law Ministries were examining the apex court judgment ‘‘very carefully’’ for ‘‘proper and further action’’. He added that the Centre had decided to hear all shades of opinion before deciding finally what needs to be done. ‘‘This is a matter on which people have expressed their views differently,’’ the Minister said. He said it has not yet been decided to file a review petition. ‘‘The Supreme Court verdict is binding on all of us and the GoM will hear the views of all concerned parties before advising the government,’’ Patil added. AASU warns parties GUWAHATI: The all Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Thursday warned political parties against trying to create communal tension over the IMDT Act judgment. ‘‘We warn them against trying to create a fear psychosis among religious minorities,’’ AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya said. Meanwhile, a 10-hour bandh called by the all Assam Minorities’ Students’ Union (AAMSU) to protest the judgment disrupted life in minority-dominated districts. ENS
