BJP led government to elicit views on ways to amend the clause 6 of Assam accord

GUWAHATI: What is expected to trigger controversy, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday said that government will elicit views from cross sections of the society about ways to amend the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord for ensuring Constitutional safeguard of the state.

Clause 6 of Assam accord which was signed in 1985 after six year long foreigners’ movement deals with the constitutional safeguard to Assamese people. All Assam Students union (Aasu) which is one of the signatory of the accord has opposed any move to amend the Assam accord.

Sonowal while speaking at Round Table Dialogue for Constitutional Protection of Assam” organised by Assam Accord Implementation Department in association with North East Political Science Association in Guwahati said that to take views from cross sections of the society about ways to amend the Clause 6 of the Accord for ensuring Constitutional safeguard of the state, this type of round table discussions would be held in the Barak valley and other part of the state as well. “There is room for all opinions in a parliamentary democracy and we must have patience to listen to others views opposed to ours for a correct implementation of the Accord.”

Sonowal said that the government is taking measures to formulate a new land policy as securing the land for the indigenous inhabitants of the state is of paramount importance. The concept paper for the land policy would take views from all section of society before putting it in cabinet for approval.

Sonowal said “Without land there can be no existence of the Assamese race and it is the government’s fundamental duty to protect the land for the original dwellers of the state and no compromise would be accepted in this regard.”