Tag: AASU

  • AASU head says not afraid of being spied on by Pegasus, fight against CAA to continue 

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Student body AASU’s Chief Adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya on Thursday said that he is not afraid of being targeted by Pegasus phone surveillance and his struggle against the CAA will continue.

    In its series of expose on the alleged Pegasus phone spying scandal, The Wire news portal published its latest article on Wednesday stating that phone numbers of two prominent Assamese personalities also figured in the list of around 50,000 numbers worldwide.

    All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) Chief Adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya and ULFA (pro-talk faction) General Secretary Anup Chetia’s numbers are part of the list, which was exposed and analysed by a global alliance of media publications.

    A day after his name popped up in the spying controversy, Bhattacharya expressed surprise and shock, and termed the entire act of putting scores of Indian citizens under surveillance as “anti-national”.

    “In this situation, if it is thought that we will be scared with taping of our phones, it is wrong. We will not be afraid. If it is thought that we will not continue with our non-violent struggle to protect the interests of the indigenous people of Northeast, that will not happen.

    “Our zeal to fight for our rights will continue, nobody can stop us. We are working for protection of the interests of the indigenous people of the Northeast. Our high command is the people of the region.

    We are working under the guardianship of the people,” Bhattacharya told PTI in an interview. He said that whatever he or his colleagues talk over phone, everything is transparent and they say the same thing to the people and the media, and there is nothing to hide.

    The AASU leader asserted that the core issue is very clear and it is the influx of illegal foreigners, which is a threat to the identity of the indigenous people of Assam and the Northeastern region.

    “Assam Agitation took place because of this and the Assam Accord was signed. But it has not been implemented and the situation became more grave. Northeast was becoming a dumping ground with the imposition of Citizenship (Amendment) Act,” he added.

    The CAA is a violation of the Assam Accord and it is “anti-Constitution, communal, anti-indigenous and anti-Northeast”, Bhattacharya said.

    A six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the AASU in 1979.

    It had culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord on August 15, 1985 in the presence of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

    “That is why the anti-CAA movement in the Northeast was very strong. Our method of the movement was different from other parts of the country and it was non-violent. It will continue,” he added.

    Talking about the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, Bhattacharya said the Constitutional safeguard has to be given to the indigenous people of the state.

    The CAA seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis entering India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after five years of residence here.

    As per Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.

    The bone of contention since the signing of the Accord in 1985 has been the definition of the Assamese people.

    “That is why a high-powered committee was formed by the Central government. It submitted its report more than a year ago. The Centre had given an assurance to implement it in letter and spirit, but nothing has been done yet,” he said.

    As per the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.

    On the Pegasus controversy, Bhattacharya said, “Israel is a foreign nation. A foreign nation taking permission of Indian government and spying on Indian citizens, this is just the murder of democracy. It is a dangerous and fascist attack on privacy, against the Constitution and an anti-India act.”

    About the Indian government’s continuous denial of the snooping act, he said if it was done without the knowledge of the Centre, it is more dangerous.

    “Then the offices of the prime minister, home minister, defence minister, our internal security — everything can be under surveillance. It is a threat to the integrity, sovereignty and internal security of the country. It is basically a serious threat to the country,” Bhattacharya said.

    The AASU leader also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to tell the truth to the people of the nation whether the surveillance has the government’s sanction or it is being done by a foreign nation without its knowledge.

    ULFA (pro-talk) General Secretary Anup Chetia, the other person whose number was also found in the Pegasus leaked list, said on Wednesday he was not surprised that his phone was allegedly being tapped.

    “It is natural that the security agencies would tap our phones. We have to see our past also. We fought against the state and declared a war against India. However, I don’t know if Pegasus infected my phone or not,” the insurgent leader, who is now part of a dialogue process, said.

    Like Bhattacharya, Chetia too was vocal about his opposition to the CAA.

    A global media consortium has recently reported that over 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two central ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders besides scores of business persons and activists in India, could have been targeted for hacking using the Israeli spyware Pegasus, which is usually supplied to government agencies.

    The Indian government and Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, which sells Pegasus spyware worldwide, have refuted the reports.

  • AASU announces protest programme during PM Modi’s February 22 visit

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Saturday announced that it will hold agitations during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on February 22 to protest against his government’s alleged failure to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.

    Member of the students’ organisation will wave black flags and wear black badges at all district and sub-divisional headquarters, AASU President Dipanka Kumar Nath and General Secretary Shankarjyoti Barua said in a release on Saturday.

    The BJP-led government at the Centre has failed the people of Assam by not implementing Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, failing to declare floods and erosion as national problems and not stopping construction of all big dams in the region, including the Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project.

    Nath and Barua that during floods, the prime minister did not bother to visit Assam and had merely reviewed the situation over phone.

    “But now that state election is round the corner, he has come thrice within a month to seek votes,” they said.

    The AASU leaders said that before the 2016 Lok Sabha election, the prime minister had said that all illegal immigrants will have to pack their bags and leave.

    “But the Centre is now conspiring to impose the burden of additional foreigners on Assam by enacting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

    The prime minister during his two earlier visits did not make a single mention of the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, they added.

    The Centre had promised that it will implement the recommendations of the High Level Committee to the last comma and full stop.

    It is now nearly a year that the report was submitted to the state government but it is yet to be sent to the Centre for its implementation, they said.

    “We demand that the prime minister announces on February 22 when the recommendations of the Committee will be implemented as constitutional safeguards are a legitimate rights of the people of the state”, the leaders said.

    AASU had organised protests against Modi’s visit on January 23 demanding repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act hat seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.

    As per the clause constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.

  • Shah plays infiltration card against Congress-AIUDF in poll-bound Assam

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Listing out the achievements of the BJP-led government in Assam, Home Minister Amit Shah pitched for another term to ‘safeguard’ the state’s interests. Shah on Sunday said the Congress- AIUDF combine would open ‘all gates’ to infiltrators if voted to power.

    Addressing his first political rally in the poll-bound state, Shah took a swipe at the Congress for calling the BJP communal by questioning its alliance with Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF, which draws support mainly from Muslims.

    At the Vijay Sankalp Samaroh, Shah asserted that an era of peace and development has been ushered in Assam by the BJP.

    Appealing to the people to vote for BJP, Shah said Assam has become ‘bullet-free and agitation free’ and the next BJP dispensation will make it ‘flood-free’, calling floods its biggest problem.

    Shah projected his party as the only alternative capable of safeguarding and promoting the regional culture.

    He also took a dig at the Assam Jatiya Parishad, a party floated by former AASU leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi, which is tipped to ally with Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal, without naming them, saying they are in the poll arena to help the Congress by trying to cut into votes of the BJP.

    These two parties are stridently opposed to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and have alleged the CAA is a ‘threat’ to Assam’s culture and identity.

    The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), which has led mass agitations over the issue of regional identity in the past, has backed Assam Jatiya Parishad.

    Hitting out at the Congress, the Home Minister said the party had adopted the British Empire’s policy of ‘divide and rule’ by pitting different groups of people against one another, leading to bloodshed and loss of lives of thousands of youth.

  • Students to burn copies of CAA when Modi, Shah visit Assam

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will return to haunt the ruling BJP in Assam as it gears up for Assembly elections, expected in April-May.

    The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) said it would burn copies of the controversial Act during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to the state.

    During his day-long trip, Modi will address a rally in Upper Assam’s Sivasagar on January 23. Shah will arrive the next day.

    The members of the AASU will take out torch rallies on January 22 and tie a black cloth around their mouth across the state on the day Modi arrives. They will observe January 24 as a “Black Day” and hoist black flags all over the state.

    “Ahead of every election, PM Modi will come to Assam and make some false promises. The people of Assam have understood the BJP’s brand of politics. They will never accept CAA,” AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath told journalists.

    Ahead of the 2016 elections, Modi had promised to drive out the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

    “You can write it down. After May 16, these Bangladeshis better be prepared with their bags packed,” he had then said.

    Shah had also asserted that the India-Bangladesh border would be sealed in such a manner even the birds from the neighbouring country would not be able to fly into Assam.

    Various organisations in Assam are livid with the BJP over CAA and the non-implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. CAA will grant citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants, who entered India till December 31, 2014, from Bangladesh, besides Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 between the Centre and the AASU at the end of the six-year-long bloody “Assam Agitation”. The Accord’s Clause 6 says: “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.

    Earlier, the Centre had constituted the Clause 6 Implementation Committee. The committee, in due course, submitted its report but the Centre has remained mum.

    In December 2019, five people, including a teenager, had lost their lives in Assam when the protests against CAA turned violent. CAA is set to become the key issue in the polls. A section of the protestors have floated two regional parties to defeat the BJP.