The Supreme Court’s ruling upholding Section 6A of the Citizenship Act has renewed calls from Assam organizations to repeal the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019. They argue the CAA’s extension of the cut-off date undermines the Assam Accord, which established March 24, 1971, as the critical date for detecting illegal migrants.
Guwahati: The Supreme Court’s recent judgment upholding the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act has sparked renewed calls from various organizations in Assam to scrap the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019. The CAA extended the cut-off date for Indian citizenship to 2014, a move seen by many in Assam as violating the Assam Accord and undermining the region’s long-standing struggle to address illegal immigration.
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), a key player in Assam’s six-year anti-foreigner movement (1979-1985), has been at the forefront of this demand. The movement, which culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985, established March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for detecting and deporting foreigners who entered the state illegally. Following the Supreme Court’s verdict, the AASU reiterated that the Assam Accord must be implemented fully, and all migrants who entered Assam after this date must be detected and deported.
“The cut-off date of March 24, 1971, agreed in the Assam Accord, got legal validity through Section 6A of the Citizenship Act,” said Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharjya, AASU’s chief advisor. He further emphasized,
“Since the Supreme Court today upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A, it is now up to the Centre and the state government to implement all clauses of the Assam Accord and solve the vexed foreigner problem in Assam. It is now almost 40 years that the accord remained unimplemented.”
At the heart of the opposition to the CAA is its extension of the cut-off date for citizenship to December 2014, specifically for non-Muslim migrants from neighboring countries. This extension directly conflicts with the Assam Accord’s original cut-off date of March 24, 1971. The AASU and other groups argue that the CAA violates the Assam Accord by offering citizenship based on religious grounds, while the accord aimed to identify and deport all migrants who entered Assam post-1971, regardless of their religion.
Since the passage of the CAA in December 2019, Assam has seen widespread protests, with many accusing the Narendra Modi-led government of violating the accord and undermining the rights of Assam’s indigenous population. Although the Centre has started implementing the CAA ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the demand for its repeal has only grown louder.
Lurinjyoti Gogoi, a former general secretary of AASU and now the leader of the Asom Jatiya Parishad, an anti-CAA regional party, reiterated the demand to scrap the CAA. Gogoi argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling on Section 6A effectively nullifies the CAA’s cut-off date of 2014.
“The SC clearly said that anyone who entered Assam illegally after March 24, 1971, is an illegal migrant and would not avail the benefits of the Section 6A of the Citizenship Act,”
he stated.
The Congress Party in Assam has also joined the call for the CAA’s repeal. Debabrata Saikia, a senior Congress MLA, described the Supreme Court verdict as historic and said,
“The CAA must be scrapped as it violates Section 6A of the Citizenship Act and the Assam Accord.”
He further emphasized that the Centre should not impose the 2014 cut-off date on Assam, stating,
“The Assam Accord was signed under Congress rule to solve the foreigners’ problem and secure the future of the indigenous Assamese people. The CAA seeks to nullify the accord.”
Read Also: “Still Oppose CAA, Will Pursue Case in Supreme Court”: AGP
Even Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) echoed the call for the CAA’s repeal, emphasizing that the act violates the secular nature of the Constitution.
With the Supreme Court’s ruling clearing the way for the full implementation of the Assam Accord, organizations like the AASU are now urging the Centre and state government to take swift action. The AASU’s demand for the implementation of all clauses of the accord is not just about detecting and deporting illegal migrants but also about securing the rights and future of Assam’s indigenous population.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court’s judgment has reignited the debate over the CAA and its conflict with the Assam Accord. With mounting pressure from Assam’s political and social organizations, the future of the CAA remains uncertain, but the demand for its repeal is growing stronger as Assamese people push for the full implementation of the Assam Accord to solve the state’s long-standing migrant issue.
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