AASU, AAPSU call for early settlement of Assam-Arunachal boundary issue

Itanagar, July 31: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) have urged the Governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to resolve the long-standing boundary issue between the two Northeastern states at the earliest taking into confidence of the people residing on both sides of the border.   

The apex students’ bodies of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, which had a conclave here on Saturday, in a joint statement released on Monday said, “Both AAPSU and AASU agreed that peace and harmony is to be maintained in the border areas of both the states.

People-to-people contact and people-to-people relationship is the only way to create a peaceful atmosphere in the border areas. Aiming to create such congenial environment, districts units of AAPSU and AASU will have meetings and adopt appropriate measures in this regard,” it said.

It may be mentioned that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the Chief Ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh - Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and Pema Khandu in New Delhi on April 20 in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve the decades-old boundary dispute between the two neighbouring states. In July last year, the two Chief Ministers had signed the Namsai Declaration, setting in motion their efforts to solve the border row.

Since AAPSU has been fighting for the deportation of illegal Chakma refugees from Arunachal Pradesh because it is a threat to the identity of the indigenous people of the State, it was resolved that “AASU shall extend its full support to AAPSU’s fight against the illegal Chakma refugee in Arunachal Pradesh”.

On the issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh, both the unions demanded, “All the illegal foreign nationals from Bangladesh residing in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh be identified, their names be deleted from the voter list and deported immediately.”

The Government of India and the Government of Bangladesh should sign a bilateral treaty to deport illegal foreigners, they further said, adding that “the Indo-Bangladesh border be sealed in the similar manner in which the Indo-Pakistan border is protected”.

Further demanding that the historic ‘Assam Accord’ must be implemented with a time-bound action plan, the statement read: “Constitutional safeguard should be immediately provided to the indigenous people of Assam by implementing all suggestions laid down by the high-level committee under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd) Biplab Kumar Sarma formed by the Government of India under Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. The safeguard should be given constitutionally.”

Expressing their umbrage against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, they said, “CAA is anti-North-East, anti-indigenous, unconstitutional, violative of Assam Accord, communal, and it gives protection to the illegal Bangladeshis. The CAA must be repealed.”

The top students’ bodies also demanded the Centre and state governments to implement the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the whole of Northeast.

“Inner Line Permit system should be made applicable for all the states of North-East.”

Presently, ILP is application in four North East states - Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur.

“NRC should be prepared for all the stages of North-East. The modality should be prepared depending on the socio-political situations of the states,” they said.

Though NRC was updated in Assam under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India, AASU is not happy about the final results. AASU had filed a petition in the apex court for re-examination so that illegal foreigners' names free correct NRC can be prepared in Assam.

“Now, the Govt of India and Govt of Assam should file a similar petition before the Supreme Court to have a correct NRC in Assam,” they said.

It was also decided during the meeting that AASU will extend support to 5 Arunachal students admitted in government medical colleges of Assam who are economically weak as recommended by AAPSU.