Crying in the wilderness

Though the tripartite talks in Delhi have yielded some results in the shape of a decision to amend the Citizenship Act and to take up the fencing of Assam's 158 km. border with Bangladesh to check immigration, the key issue of repeal of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act seems to have been shelved for the time being. Union Home Minister L.K. Advani reportedly told the AASU president Prabin Boro and general secretary Amiya Bhuyan that unless the Congress extended its support to the motion it would not get approved in Parliament. The Government, once bitten on the issue of imposition of President's Rule in Bihar, cannot afford to lose face again knowing fully well that the Congress enjoys a solid majority in the Rajya Sabha. The Government made it clear that it was in favour of repealing the Act but was helpless as the Congress party was vehemently opposed to it and wanted the Act to continue. In fact, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Tarun Gogoi not only wants this piece of legislation to continue, but also wants that it should be extended to other States of the Union to bring about uniformity. The APCC view is that if the Act is repealed, there will be harassment on the minorities in the name of detecting foreign nationals. The Congress and the foreigners' lobby have been putting forward this tenuous plea every time the question of repeal of the discriminatory law came up. The AASU leaders have averred that if the IM(DT) Act is not repealed, the Congress would be held responsible for it. But, the Congress leadership would accept it more as an achievement because it is bending over backwards to please the minorities. Senior Congress-I leader Sri Ajun Singh during his recent visit to Guwahati has reiterated his party's opposition to repeal of the IM(DT) Act.

One good outcome is the decision to amend the Foreigners Act denying citizenship rights to the children of Bangladeshi migrants. The amendment to the Act granting citizenship status to the children of Bangladeshi migrants was made a few years ago without our MPs being aware of it. This amendment needs to be removed. Besides, the Act must be made otherwise foolproof so that foreigners living illegally in Assam can be dealt with as any other foreigner in other States. In this connection the question of issuing work permits to Bangladeshis living in Assam may come up. Home Minister Advani had said some time back that the question was under the Government's consideration. But before going ahead with the proposal it would be worthwhile to examine all aspects of the issue so that there may not be any cause for regret later. Even conceding the fact that it is not easy to send back lakhs of Bangladeshis who have made Assam their home, it has to be seen that the illegal migrants are not provided with carte blanche to say on. The same holds good for the photo identity card scheme also. While it is necessary to grant every citizen a photo identity card to enable him/her to take part in elections, care must be taken that the migrants do not get hold of such cards that would entitle them to vote. It is the fear of illegal migrants taking advantage of the system that prompted the oganisation fighting for the indigenous people to boycott the ID card issuing process. Besides, updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a must before all these proposals are sought to be implemented.

The tripartie talks chaired by Additional Home Secretary P D Shenoy and attended by representatives of the AASU and the Government of Assam did right to agree to take up on priority basis the fencing of the 158 km. border with Bangladesh to check further infiltration. It is a pity that even after 14 years the problem of physical barrier has not been solved. The decision also proves that migration is still going on and unless stopped completely, the danger to Assam to which Governor Lt. Gen. (retired) S.K. Sinha had pointed out, will remain. A sum of Rs. 160 crore would be made available for sealing the border which is expected to be completed by December next year. But whether the money will come soon is to be seen.

The Assam Tribune