AASU warns of massive agitation over Bangladeshi issue

Guwahati, Sep 6 (UNI) The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) today threatened to launch a state-wide agitation if the Tarun Gogoi government in Asom went ahead with its plan of issuing ''land pattas'' to Bangladeshi nationals.

The AASU will launch massive agitation if the Bangladeshi settlers here were given land rights, AASU advisor Sammujal Bhattacharyya told reporters.

He was speaking after a 15-minute show of documentary film on the alleged infiltration and felling of tress going on unabated in the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) and other reserved forest areas of the state. The film, which was hown to mediapeople, included the interview of a forest guard at the Laukhowa reserved forest, who alleged that repeated pleas to the higher officials fell on deaf ears.

The felled wood was sent to Nowgaon town and attempts by the junior grade personnel to stop these offenders were met with death threats, the guard said, alleging that Bangladeshi infiltrators were carrying on this activity. ''These illegal settlers should have been evicted the moment they built their houses,'' he added.

Another local man, who featured in the clipping, said the felling of trees and killing of animals were being carried on by foreign nationals.

The AASU challenged Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's statement that the KNP was free from infiltrators.

''Mr Gogoi's statement encourages the Bangladeshis to come to the state in greater hordes. We strongly condemn his statement,'' Dr Bhattacharya said, addidng the government has failed to protect even the KNP, which is a world heritage site.

He termed Mr Gogoi's statement as an attempt to sabotage the National Register of Citizens (NRC) compilation process.

The AASU leader questioned the government's failure to deport Bangladeshi nationals even when neighbouring Meghalaya government was regularly banishing the suspected infiltrators from its state.

Dr Bhattacharyya said the AASU would go on an agitation spree again if the Bangladeshi settlers, entering the state after 1971, were not identified and deported immediately.

UNI SG PC VD KP1858