Kokrajhar, Nov. 8: The All Assam Students Union slammed the All BTC Minority Students Union of having double standards on the foreigners issue and asked them to make their stand clear.
Talking to reporters at the AASU office here today, secretary of the Kokrajhar district unit, Nabojyoti Ray, said, "On one hand, the ABMSU leaders say illegal migrants who came after March 25, 1971, should be deported. But on the other hand, they are demanding rehabilitation of all the people displaced in the recent violence without any identification. They should make their stand clear."
Ray also accused the ABMSU of safeguarding illegal migrants when the whole of Assam was one on deporting foreigners.
ABMSU chief publicity secretary Lafikul Islam Ahmed on Tuesday demanded rehabilitation of the inmates lodged at relief camps in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhu-bri and said "identification of citizenship should be done after they are rehabilitated".
Ahmed also demanded those inmates whose names exist in the 2005 BTC election voter list should be rehabilitated to the places from where they were displaced.
Ray said, "BTC is a part of Assam and the question of using the voter list for BTC election does not arises. Anyone who came to the state after March 25, 1971, is a foreigner. Rehabilitation should be done only on the basis of the 1971 voter list.
AASU state executive member Nazrul Haq said, "We are clear that only genuine Indian citizens who came to Assam before March 25, 1971 should be rehabilitated. People whose citizenship is doubtful should be kept in detention camps and deported. No one of suspected nationality should be rehabilitated."
The AASU leaders also came down heavily on the minority students' union for making statements against its adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya and alleging that the AASU and BJP did not want peace in the BTAD. They had also accused AASU leaders of visiting the region after riots and indulging in dirty politics by giving unnecessary statements.
Ray said, "The BTAD people know very well about the activities of ABMSU during the ethnic violence. Blaming others is the only way to cover up the failure of the minority students' union. We strongly condemn the statements made by the ABMSU leader."