Congress MLAs walk out of Assam Assembly after heated debate over CAA

Guwahati, April 5 Congress MLAs staged a walkout of the Assam Assembly on Wednesday following a heated debate with the state government over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Assam Accord.

During Question Hour, a query on whether the CAA had violated clauses of the 1985 Assam Accord was raised by the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Debabrata Saikia.

Replying to the query, state minister Atul Bora said: "What was Congress doing during all those years while sitting at the governments at the state and the Centre?"

Congress MLAs objected to Bora's statement and walked out of the Assembly without attending the Question Hour.

Later, Saikia said: "We believe that since the CAA introduced a new cut-off date for giving citizenship to a particular section of people who migrated from Bangladesh and a few other countries prior to December 31, 2014, it has diluted the provisions laid down in the Assam Accord.

"I sought an answer in this regard from the state government. But unfortunately, the government tried to avoid answering this important question and rather replied on other aspects. That is why we decided to walk out of the Assembly."

Signed as a tripartite agreement in 1985 by the Centre, Assam government, and leaders of the Assam movement, the Assam accord mentioned that any refugees and migrants who entered India after March 25, 1971, will be identified and deported.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, a huge refugee influx occurred in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and other neighbouring states.

tdr/ksk/