Greater Bangladesh move behind influx
GUWAHATI : Accusing the Centre of turning a blind eye to the unabated influx of Bangladeshis into the
North-
east, the North East Students’ Organization (NESO) today said that along with illegal migrants, as many as 14 fundamental outfits were spreading their tentacles in the
region taking advantage of the porous Indo-Bangla border. “The silent invasion in the form of influx is effecting a serious demographic change in Assam and the other north-eastern States. To top it, 14 fundamental outfits are actively working in the North-east as part of their game plan to make the region a part of greater Bangladesh,” NESO chairman Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya told newsmen.
Dr Bhattacharya said that the Centre’s inaction in checking infiltration in spite of its ominous portends that can jeopardize the whole country’s integrity, was most unfortunate.
Dr Bhattacharya, who gave an account of the NESO delegation’s meetings with the Prime Minister and the Home Minister in New Delhi recently, said that the NESO wanted the Centre to adopt a proactive policy in the form of a white paper rather than a reactive policy on the issue.
“We also
demanded immediate scrapping of the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order 2006, which is totally discriminatory and is applicable only in the State of Assam,” he said.
Further, in order to ensure that political power rested with the indigenous
people of the region and to ensure economic development, the NESO demanded a
special constitutional status for the people with right over land and natural resources. “The NESO is of the view that special constitutional status must be granted to the people of the region, which delegates vast federal authority to the State governments including the right over land and natural resources,” Dr Bhattacharya said.
Dr Bhattacharya said that in view of the deplorable state of human resource development in the North-east, the NESO called for setting up of a special education commission to assess the special needs of education taking into consideration the rich cultural heritage, languages and history of the region. It further demanded revamping of the existing universities and colleges with new relevant courses and vocational institutes.
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