Guwahati, May 20: Ulfa vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi, in jail since 1997, today lambasted the All-Assam Students? Union (AASU) for ?diluting? the issue of infiltration by foreigners and making ?too much noise? over the proposed repeal of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act.
In a no-holds-barred attack on the student organisation, the Ulfa leader said, ?Those who signed the Assam Accord in 1985 should be pulled up. Why didn?t they insist that the Act, promulgated in 1983, should be repealed or amended before signing the accord??
He said the infiltration issue must be seen from a broader perspective, given the fact that a large section of children of illegal migrants had acquired citizenship by virtue of being born in Assam after 1971. As per the Assam Accord, those who illegally entered the state after March 25, 1971 are foreigners.
On the IMDT Act, Gogoi said the Ulfa had always been against it. But he said the outfit had no objection to anyone adopting Assam as his/her state by ?accepting Assamese culture, blending with society and working for the interests of Assam?.
The Ulfa leader claimed that his outfit did not regard the influx of migrants as a major issue. He said that once the bigger issue of ?Assam?s sovereignty? was addressed, the problem of illegal influx would be automatically tackled.
The AASU held public meetings in the district headquarters to mobilise public opinion for repeal of the IMDT Act, while the All-Assam Minority Students? Union decided to launch a signature campaign against the move.
The Samajwadi Party said party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav would be requested to move a Bill in parliament seeking an amendment to the Foreigners Act, 1946.