APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) Pledges to Block CAB, Fresh NRC

…set policies for providing security and shelter on humanitarian ground to all those people of undivided India who had to enter India following religious persecution – State Congress

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) took a pledge on Sunday not to accept the CAB (Citizenship Amendment Bill) and NRC with a new cut-off year. The party, however, has appealed to the government to set policies for providing security and shelter on humanitarian grounds to all those people of undivided India who had to enter India following religious persecution.

The APCC had its executive meeting at Rajiv Bhawan here on Sunday with party president Ripun Bora in the chair. The party said that the government at the Centre had brought the CAB in the Parliament earlier, but opted not to introduce it in the Rajya Sabha because of strong protest by the Congress within and outside the Parliament, besides the people of Assam. “Protest against the CAB rends the air in Assam again. The stance of the Congress on the CAB still stands. The Assam Accord has been accepted by the people of the State, and as such the detection and deportation of foreigners in the State should be based in accordance with the cut-off date – March 24 midnight, 1971— as mentioned in the Accord. Assam cannot shoulder the burden of any other foreigners who entered the State after this cut-off date. The NRC in the State has also been updated taking this cut-off date as the base,” a resolution adopted by the APCC said, and added, “We’re going to oppose the Bill that’s set to spell doom for the soul of the Assam Accord, besides posing a threat to the social, cultural and linguistic aspects of the State.”

The APCC has demanded the Central and the State governments to issue verification reports of refugee certificates, migration certificates and citizenship certificates of linguistic minorities who entered Assam before 1971. The party has alleged that despite standing instructions from the Supreme Court of India, a number of such certificates of NRC applicants were ignored during the NRC update exercise due to absence of verification reports of such documents from the State government. The party criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his statement of taking 1951 as the cut-off year for fresh NRC update. “A large number of applicants declared ineligible for inclusion in the final NRC are Indians. We want quick disposal of cases in FTs (foreigners tribunals) and cases of doubtful voters,” the party said.

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