Assam violence re-ignites oust-Bangladeshis chorus

The violence in Assam which left at least 94 people dead and displaced more than four lakh has re-ignited the oust-Bangladeshis campaign in the Northeast.

The Bodo Peoples Front,which runs the Bodoland Territorial Council,claims that a number of the more than 2.5 lakh Muslims displaced from Kokrajhar and Chirang,the worst-affected of the four violence-hit Bodo districts,are illegal Bangladeshi migrants,even though Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has rubbished such allegations. We will not allow any illegal Bangladeshi migrant to return to the Bodo districts, said BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary.

The All Assam Students Union,along with other student organisations in the region,has called a bandh on September 6 in six states of the Northeast barring Assam to launch a vigorous movement to press for detection and deportation of Bangladeshi infiltrators.

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In the past few days,various student bodies and NGOs have held rallies across the state to demand ouster of immigrants. In Jorhat,one NGO has asked residents not to rent out houses to Bangladeshis and told suspected immigrants to leave within two weeks. These outfits have also demanded that the government immediately update the National Register of Citizens. It is regrettable that the state has failed to update the NRC despite the PM agreeing to it way back in 2005, said AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharyya.

Foreigners Tribunals have estimated there were 54,506 foreigners in Assam between 1985 and 2011,in addition to the 82,585 Bangladeshis who,according to the Home Ministry,came on valid passports but then disappeared.