192 victims of Assam Agitation to get Rs 2 Lakh each

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The state government, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) will observe Swahid Divas on Saturday with separate programmes.

Swahid Divas is observed to honour the sacrifices of 860 martyrs of the Assam Agitation on the anniversary of the martyrdom of the first martyr of the movement, Khargeswar Talukdar, during firing by security personnel in Bhawanipur on December 10, 1979.

The Implementation of the Assam Accord Department will host a programme at the martyrs' memorial at Paschim Boragaon here, wherein 192 persons who sustained grievous injuries during the six-year-long Assam Agitation will be given a one-time financial grant of Rs 2 lakh each by the state government. The programme will also witness the release of the 4th and 5th editions of the Assamese anthology 'Axom Andulonor Toithyokoox'. The programme will be attended, among others, by Implementation of Assam Accord Minister Atul Bora.

On the other hand, the AGP will organize statewide programmes to mark the occasion. The central programme will be held at the party's office at Ambari here.

AGP president and Cabinet Minister Atul Bora said during an interaction with the media that the people of Assam will always remember the sacrifice made by the martyrs of the Assam Agitation. The AGP was born as a consequence of the Assam Agitation and hence the party will forever respect the sacrifice of the martyrs, he said. Bora added that the AGP will keep on trying to implement each clause of the Assam Accord.

Meanwhile, the AASU will also observe Swahid Divas with statewide programmes on Saturday. The central programme will be held at Sonari.

In a joint statement, AASU's in-charge president Utpal Sarma and general secretary Sankor Jyoti Baruah said that the problem of illegal influx of foreign nationals has become more intense than the time of the Assam Agitation. As a result, the demographic pattern of Assam is undergoing a drastic change, they said. The duo added that successive Central and state governments have not taken the required steps to resolve the problem.

The statement said that the AASU will continue to raise its voice over the issue till such time as the Assam Accord is fully implemented.

Sarma and Baruah further reiterated that the AASU will never accept the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) because it violates the Assam Accord.

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