Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Discusses Clause 6 of Assam Accord and Aadhaar Card Issues

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the state government has reviewed the Justice (Retd) Biplab Sarma Commission’s recommendations on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. Clause 6 aims to protect the cultural, social, and linguistic identity of the Assamese people.

“We had thoroughly discussed the recommendations of the Justice (Retd) Biplab Sarma Commission. 52 recommendations are under the ambit of the state government; 5 recommendations are under the ambit of both the state and the centre. The state government can implement 52 of the 67 recommendations of the Commission. There are 5-6 recommendations where we must talk with organisations and the public,” CM Sarma told reporters.

CM Sarma said that the state government has decided to bring the 52 recommendations in the implementation stage before Bohag Bihu, a festival marking the Assamese New Year. “In the next 3 months, we will discuss with AASU and other organisations. As of now, we can’t implement the recommendation of 80 percent reservation of Assamese people in Assembly, Panchayat. We want to seriously talk with the Centre about it,” he added.

CM Sarma also addressed concerns about Aadhaar cards issued to suspected individuals. “Aadhaar cards more than the population in Dhubri district were issued. Maybe some suspected people got Aadhaar cards. The Assam Government will issue a notification in the next 10 days that if you don’t apply for NRC, you will not get an Aadhaar card in the new process. This notification will not be implemented in tea garden areas. From October 1, except in the tea garden, adults in other districts will have to go through a strict process,” he explained.

Additionally, CM Sarma announced efforts to intensify the detection of illegal immigrants in Assam. “The detection process of foreigners was almost stopped after the updation process of the NRC. In the last few months, we have arrested or pushed back 20-30 Bangladeshis. Today we have ordered to intensify the detection of illegal immigrants in Assam. We have published detailed guidelines. We want to strengthen the process,” he added.