NE states unite over influx issue
Source: Hueiyen News Service / NNN

Imphal / Guwahati, September 06 2012: Normal life in north eastern region remained affected on Thursday due to a 12-hour bandh called by North East Students' Organisation in protest against discrimination of Northeasters in other parts of the country and also to demand deportation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from the region.

Barring Assam and Tripura where it was partial, the bandh was total in Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram with all shops, markets, business establishments, government and private offices, banks and education institutions remaining shut down in the five states during the dawn to dusk bandh which came into effect from 5 am and concluded at 5 pm.

As part of the protest call, a massive rally was organised in Guwahati where student leaders from the region who conglomerated at Latasil gave fiery speeches asking from the state governments as well as the Central government to formulate effective mechanism to "save the Northeast region" from influx foreigners.

A security personnel walks pass a road in Imphal being blocked with burning of tyres

Along with shouting slogans such as "Bangladeshis go back, "Deport Bangladeshis", "Save the North East region," "Update the National Register of Citizens," "Implement all clauses of the Assam Accord," "Stop discriminating the people of the North East", around 30 thousand people led by NESO leaders took out the rally from Latasil at around 11 am.

Addressing the gathering, Birendra Prasad Baishya, a Rajya Sabha MP, who represented the Northeast MPs Forum, advocated for the prevention of foreigners influx into the region.

He said illegal immigration should be stopped immediately.

Birendra Prasad Baishya also said the influx of foreigners into the region has threatened the very existence of the North East people and their lands.

"Given the seriousness of the influx, we have been raising it all along in the Parliament.

We all must have to save Assam to save the north-east," Baishya stated.

Fuming over the failure by the successive governments both in Assam and at New Delhi to implement fully the Assam Accord of 1985, NESO leader Samujjal Bhattacharya said unless the Accord if implemented successfully, problems will persist.

"Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the Assam Accord in 1985, but Sonia Gandhi, the UPA chairperson, has failed to implement it and stop illegal migration.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who represents Assam in Parliament, has also failed in this context," he alleged.

He also blamed Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for trivialising the issue and said that the recent exodus of students and professionals to the Northeast following the riots in lower Assam was the outcome of the government's apathy.

Seeing the mammoth turn-out at today's rally, the NESO leader said that the public response to protest rally indicated that "we are concerned about the situation" where foreigners are overshadowing the indigenous people.

Samujjal also said that the continuing influx of foreigners into the region is a threat to the integrity of India.

On August 23 in Guwahati, issues of illegal immigrants in the north east region, the prolonging fencing process of the government of India along the Indo-Bangla border and a policy to ensure the safety of the north east people in the mainland India were discussed in the NESO meeting.

The NESO units from all the North Eastern states participated in that meeting where they deliberated that the government of India should ensure to check the influx of foreigners illegally in the north east region.

The need to have a comprehensive policy to detect and deport the illegal immigrants from the north east region should be made by the government of India was also stressed in the meeting.

The NESO leaders had also pointed out the prolonging period to complete the fencing work in the Indo-Bangla border when the same could be done in the Indo-Pakistan border within a short period.

"There are so many porous areas in the Indo Bangla border which have been serving as gate-ways for illegal immigrants," one of the NESO functionary had said.