Guwahati: The people of Assam welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on Thursday upholding the validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act. This verdict ended a long-standing debate on the cut-off year for the detection and deportation of illegal foreigners.
While the Assam Accord, signed in 1985, demanded the cut-off date for the detection and deportation of illegal foreigners should be March 25, 1971, some organizations challenged this and wanted 1951 as the cut-off date. The All Assam Students' Union (Aasu), a signatory of the Assam Accord, welcomed the apex court's decision and said Thursday's verdict is historic and has legally validated the Assam Accord.
"We are happy that the Supreme Court has validated the Assam Accord by ending the debate over the cut-off date for the detection and deportation of illegal foreigners from Assam. Now, it is the responsibility of the central and state governments to implement the remaining provisions of the four-decade-old Assam Accord with all sincerity," Aasu Chief Adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya said.
"We welcome the verdict of the Supreme Court. Today is historic as the verdict ends speculation on the cut-off date for the detection and deportation of foreigners. Today's verdict also proved that the then Congress government in Assam and the Congress government at the Centre led by Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi took a timely decision to end the problem of the illegal influx in Assam," Debabrata Saikia, Leader of the Opposition in Assam Legislative Assembly, said.
"The apex court's verdict, today, legally validated the Assam Accord. Now that the Supreme Court has fixed the cut-off date as 1971, the government of Assam should take steps to detect the foreigners based on it," Asom Jatiya Parishad president, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, said.
Condemning the 2019 amendment to the Citizenship Act (CAA), Gogoi appealed to the BJP-led government in Assam and the Centre to repeal the CAA 2019, which was amended to grant citizenship on the basis of religion.
It may be mentioned here that Matiur Rahman, a former AASU leader, filed the original petition in the Supreme Court in 2012 under the banner of his organization, Assam Sanmilata Mahasabha, challenging the inclusion of Section 6A in the Citizenship Act and demanding the cut-off year be 1951.
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