CAA "reflection of arrogance and failure" of BJP CMs: Gaurav Gogoi

Senior Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday, 16 July claimed that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is a reflection of the “arrogance and failure” of the present Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal.

He also questioned why the Assam Accord was practically “nullified” by extending the deadline for detection of illegal foreigners in a recent directive.

The state government has asked its Border Police wing to advise non-Muslim immigrants illegally entering the state before 2015 to apply for citizenship under the CAA.

However, according to the Assam Accord, names of all foreigners coming to the state on or after March 25, 1971 would be detected and deleted from the electoral rolls and steps would be taken to deport them.

“Many people in Assam are not getting free ration as they don’t have Aadhaar cards. Names of many Hindu Bengalis have not been included in the final draft of the NRC, which is grave injustice to them,” Gogoi said.

“Instead of solving their problems, the BJP government is only bent on implementing the CAA,” said Gogoi while speaking to reporters after a party programme.

The final draft of the NRC was released on 31 August, 2019, by excluding 19,06,657 applicants. Aadhaar cards of about nine lakh people have been blocked, who had applied during updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on Monday.

“At that time, the government had transformed the Aadhaar centres into NRC centres. These people had gone there to get Aadhaar, but it was blocked due to a clash of timing only. We are examining the list now," he said.

Referring to Sarma’s statement on Monday, 15 July that eight individuals have applied for citizenship under CAA in the state so far, Gogoi claimed that for the sake of only a few persons, the government has nullified the safeguard provided to the people through the Assam Accord.

Non-Muslim illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who had entered India on or before 31 December, 2014, are able to apply for citizenship under the CAA.

Gogoi alleged that the contentious law is a ‘reflection of arrogance of Sarma and failure of former CM Sarbananda Sonowal’.

On the flood situation in the state, the Jorhat MP demanded a Rs one lakh crore package from the Centre.

“If Prime Minister Narendra Modi has Rs one lakh crore for bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, we also demand a package of Rs one lakh crore for mitigating flood and erosion problems of Assam,” the Congress leader said.

Earlier in the day, Gogoi was welcomed by party workers and leaders at the airport on his first visit to the state after being named deputy Congress leader in the Lok Sabha.