GUWAHATI, July 22/05: Assam Minister of State for Minority and Sar Area Development and Agriculture (independent charge) Wazed Ali Choudhury and other muslim leaders of the State today claimed that All India Congress Committee (AICC) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Group of Ministers (GoM), which had been formed by the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre to look into various aspects of the Supreme Court ruling on the IM(DT) Act, had assured them that the Foreigners Act, 1946 would be amended so as to safeguard the genuine Indian muslim populace in Assam from harassment in the name of detection and deportation of Bangladeshis.
Talking to newsmen at the Janata Bhavan conference hall in guwahati here, Wazed Ali Choudhury said that Ms Gandhi and the GoM had given this assurance to a delegation of muslim ministers and MLAs from Assam recently. Choudhury, MLAs Aftabuddin Mullah, Sajit Majumdar, Samsul Haque, Dildar Rezza, Hosenara Islam and MP Anwar Hussain demanded that the Centre amend the Foreigners Act so that the genuine Indian citizens belonging to the muslim community in Assam would not face undue harassment.
Reacting to Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, UMF and MP Golam Osmani’s remark that the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress Government’s affidavit to the Supreme Court on the IM(DT) case was not strong enough to defend the Act, the muslim ministers and MLAs said that the Jamiat, UMF and Osmani had fought separate cases in the Supreme Court demanding the retention of the IM(DT) Act, but they had not even appointed any advocates to defend their respective cases, and that was enough to expose their so-called sympathy towards the muslim community.
On the reported move by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and the UMF to float a new political party in the State, the Congress minister and the MLAs said: "Their dream will remain a dream as the muslim populace of the State are well aware of their misdeeds."
In what could be regarded as a major twist in the post-IM(DT) Act scenario of the State, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind today hinted at floating of a separate political platform. At the same time, it demanded the resignation of all the ministers of the muslim community admitting moral responsibility for their ‘failure’ to keep the election promise of defending the Act.
"Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi should also admit moral responsibility in this regard," said Moulana Badruddin Ajmal, president of the Assam Jamiat, while addressing a crowded press conference here today. The Congress Government in the State came to power by assuring the muslim community that it would defend the IM(DT) Act, he said. However, the ‘weak affidavit’ submitted to the Supreme Court by the State Government had resulted in the adverse verdict, alleged the Jamiat president terming the Government’s act as ‘betrayal.’
He further said, "Amid the prevailing situation in the aftermath of the apex court verdict and the ‘current anti-Congress sentiment’ triggered by this development, there is tremendous pressure on us from all quarters of the State to float a political party," he said.
The matter of floating of a new political platform by the Jamiat may get a final shape by August 20, when the convention of the newly-formed Coordination Committee of 13 organizations representing the muslims living in Assam, is held.
In a related development, the Jamiat leadership sat with the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba-Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) last night to ensure that peace and tranquillity prevailed among all the communities. The meeting has demanded, among other things, sealing of the Assam-Bangladesh border and taking up of the illegal migrants’ issue with the Bangladesh Government.
The State Jamiat leadership has left for New Delhi this afternoon to discuss the situation in Assam with their national president Moulana Asad Madani. However, Moulana Hafiz Basir Ahmed Qasimi, additional general secretary of Assam Jamiat, said that his organization is awaiting the completion of the six-month period of its ultimatum before going against the State Government in a big way.
It may be mentioned that Madani, in a public rally in April this year, had served an ultimatum to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi demanding fulfilment of the Congress election promises to the minorities, failing which, he threatened to throw the Congress government out of power.
‘I have enough proof of district administrations harassing minorities’2% of Assam populace are foreigners: Osmani ; In a startling development after terming the IM(DT) Act in Assam as ultra vires by the Supreme Court, senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament from Barpeta constituency AF Golam Osmani has said that two per cent of the State population are ‘foreigners’.
Addressing media persons at the MP Club here, arranged by the Citizens’ Right Preservation Committee (CRPC) of which Osmani himself is a member, the MP, currently in the limelight for his dissidence with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, has advocated for a new law in Assam in place of the IM(DT) Act to protect the muslim community. Respecting the Supreme Court verdict on the IM(DT) Act, Osmani has also termed the Foreigners’ Act in its present form as ‘inappropriate’.
Osmani pointed out that the performance index of the IM(DT) tribunals between the period starting from March 24, 1971 to May 31, 1999 had shown that the total number of inquiries referred to the screening committee was 2, 96,564 and out of this 31,264 inquiries were referred to IM(DT) tribunals. "Now, after the scrapping of the Act, 2,65,300 people will be counted as foreigners,’’ he said, adding, ‘‘it is not possible that such a huge number of people can be foreigners. They will have to suffer without any fault of theirs." He further said that the people who were ‘driven out’ from the five districts of upper Assam on may 05, were not foreigners. "They are the poor people of lower Assam who went to the upper Assam districts to earn their livelihood. I have enough proof of the district authorities harassing them in the name of driving out foreigners," claimed Osmani.
Coming down heavily on the AGP and the AASU for allegedly not been able to safeguard the interest of the muslim community of the State, Osmani also blasted Assam Governor Lt Gen (retd) Ajai Singh for the latter’s reported statement that 6,000 Bangladeshis enter Assam every year. "Such a statement, even if it is from a responsible post like the Governor’s, cannot be accepted at all," Osmani said.
He also blamed the former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta for allegedly betraying the muslim community of the State.
‘Credit should also go to Bhattacharyya, Sharma and Goswami’Each Bangladeshi must go: Satish
Senior BJP leader and observer to the North-east V Satish has reiterated his party’s commitment that it will not take rest until and unless the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are thrown out of the State.
Satish further said that the credit of scrapping of the IM(DT) Act should also go to people like former State BJP leader Hiranya Bhattacharyya ( a brahmin ), party leaders like RP Sharma ( a brahmin )and Sanjib Goswami ( a brahmin ) for continuously fighting legal battles against the Act.
He also criticized the Congress party for ‘trying to bring another law’ in place of the IM(DT) Act to protect the immigrant Bangladeshi nationals to keep its vote bank intact ignoring the interest of the national sovereignty. "Now, the people of Assam should concentrate on the three Ds— detect, delete and deport(ation) — of the immigrant Bangladeshi nationals," he added.
The senior BJP leader has also castigated Congress leader and Union Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee for his alleged negligence towards the issue while he was the Chairman of the Parliament Standing Committee.
Satish also lauded former Assam Governor Lt Gen (retd) SK Sinha for his ‘historic’ report on the possible consequences of the unabated Bangladeshi influx from the other side of the fence.
Refuting charges that success in scrapping the IM(DT) will be a poll plank of the party, Satish announced that development of roads, bridges, the State power scene, drinking water facility, checking corruption in all level, solving the unemployment problem and improvement of the State law and order scene will be the party plank for the ensuing election in the State.
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