PPFA demands a concrete refugee policy

Guwahati: As Assam has been witnessing a series of protest demonstrations against the Union government’s latest initiative to grant citizenship to religious minorities from Bangladesh, a citizens' forum urged the Centre to formulate a concrete refugee policy to deal with the situation.

Patriotic People's Front Assam (PPFA), in a statement suggested that the victims of religious persecution in Bangladesh and Pakistan may be given citizenship, but Assam should be spared from taking any more migrants as it had already carried the burden of illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

The PPFA further argued that the process of providing asylum to these minority communities including the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Sikh, Parsee nationals from Bangladesh and Pakistan should be made under the legal framework, but New Delhi must continue to pursue with the authorities in Dhaka and Islamabad diplomatically to prevent such exodus in future.

It may be mentioned that leading the civil society groups, All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) maintained its opposition against the government’s decision to grant Indian citizenship to hundreds of religious refugees from Bangladesh.

The AASU members recently burnt the copy of the Centre’s minority refugee bill to raise voices against the Narendra Modi government declaring that Assam must not be treated as a dustbin for Bangladeshi immigrants. It reiterated that all Bangladeshi migrants, irrespective of their religious affiliation, who had entered Assam after 24 March 1971 must be detected and deported as per the provisions of historic Assam Accord.

By NJ Thakuria