Guwahati, June 5: In wake of protests demanding withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, in a major political turn of events, Assam Pradesh Congress urged chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to take the lead and form an alternative government in order to “honour the Assam Accord” and also for the “greater interest of the people of Assam”.

Speaking to TIME8, senior Congressman and leader of the Opposition, Debabrata Saikia said, “Sonowal is termed as the ‘Jatiya Nayak’ or National Hero. It’s high time and he should live up to the expectations of the common man and also upheld the title given by the people of Assam. It was Sonowal who took the lead to get the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) (IMDT) Act scrapped by the Supreme Court for the benefit of Assam.”

He added, “If he (Sonowal) leaves the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government and forms an alternative government, taking together all the people who are demanding the withdrawal of the Bill, Assam Congress will lend their unconditional support to Sonowal. And we also ask Assam Accord leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta to do the same.”

The title of ‘Jatiya Nayak’ was bestowed upon Sonowal by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) in 2005 after the IMDT Act was struck down by the apex Court in the Sarbananda Sonowal vs Union of India case. The IMDT Act was enacted by the Indira Gandhi government in 1983.

The Indira Gandhi government had enacted the IMDT Act in 1983. The Act made it difficult to deport illegal immigrants from Assam. It was applicable to the state of Assam only whereas in other states, detection of foreigners is done under The Foreigners Act, 1946. Under the IMDT Act, the burden of proving the citizenship or otherwise rested on the accuser and the police, not the accused. This was a major departure from the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946.

Saikia also stated that “safeguarding the interests of the indigenous people” is the main agenda and if the Bill becomes an Act, Assam Accord will have no importance for which the people of Assam agitated for six-long years.

A six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the AASU in 1979. It culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord.

“The BJP knows only to cheat people. But we all must unite to save our Assam. During our recent Goalpara visit, we have observed that even genuine citizens of India were sent to the detention camps. Hence, all the people, now with the BJP government, should join hands and form an alternative government,” said Saikia.

News Source TIME8