Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 11, 2006
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will visit
Assam on Saturday to virtually kick-start her party's poll campaign a day
after the Centre revived some provisions contained in the scrapped IMDT Act,
a measure aimed at easing pressure on illegal Bangladeshis in the state.
The move to revive tribunals is seen in the context of concern in Congress
over its ability to hold onto Assam. There is a view in the party that the
Muslim vote is not longer secure in view of other claimants and that the Centre's
move was a calculated bid to woo the community.
Headed by PM Manmohan Singh, a GoM set up
to study the fallout of the supreme court having scrapped the IMDT Act decided
to relax the law for detecting and deporting illegal migrants. The proposed
tribunals under the Foreigners Act seem to be in line with the PM's assurance
to the minorities during a visit to Assam last month that the Centre would
address their concerns.
Sonia will address two meetings-at Barpeta and Tezpur- during the daylong
tour. With these rallies, she will flag off Congress' efforts to hold on to
the state in the face of reported resentment among the minorities as well
as other sections against the Tarun Gogoi government.
The cabinet committee on political affairs decided on Friday to set up tribunals
under the Foreigners Act to ensure what the Centre said" would be a fair
hearing to a person before being declared a foreigner and deported. The tribunals
had earlier been part of the Assam-specific IMDT Act. This means that Centre
will not bring forward a new law to replace the Assam-specific illegal Migrants
(Determination by Tribunal) Act which was scrapped by the supreme court in
July last year.
The Prime Minister, who represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha, during his visit
to the state, had said: "Minorities of Assam have my assurance that nothing
will be done which will give rise to their harassment."
