Assam to prepare road map on Assam Accord by October 25, says Himanta

File picture of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Assam government will prepare a road map to implement the recommendations of Justice Biplab Kumar Sharma (retired) Committee on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord by October 25, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said as the State government made the committee’s report public.

The committee, set up by the Union Home Ministry, had submitted its report in February 2020, suggesting measures to implement Clause 6 that pertains to protecting and preserving the cultural, social and linguistic identity, and heritage of the Assamese people through constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards.

The Chief Minister met representatives of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Wednesday to start the process. But the Congress called the move a “political gimmick” with an eye on the 2026 Assembly election.

“Congress had signed the Assam Accord and we support its implementation. We appreciate the initiative but it’s too little and too late. Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament had said that all recommendations would be implemented in letter and spirit. What happened to that,” senior Congress leader Ripun Bora asked at a press conference in Guwahati on Thursday.

“We believe it’s an election gimmick to sail through the 2026 assembly polls,” Mr. Bora added. His comments come after the Assam Chief Minister, along with his Cabinet colleagues, met AASU leaders.

“It was made clear that the recommendations cannot be implemented in the three districts of the Barak Valley and the autonomous councils under the Sixth Schedule areas without the explicit consent of the people in those regions,” Mr. Sarma had said on Wednesday.

The recommendations will apply only to the districts of the Brahmaputra Valley and not in the three districts of Barak Valley along with the Sixth Schedule areas of Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong and Bodoland Territorial Region.

Mr. Sarma said the committee’s report is divided into three parts: 40 recommendations that the State government can exclusively implement, 12 to be jointly implemented by the Centre and the State, and 15 exclusively by the Centre.

‘’Regarding the 15 recommendations to be implemented by the Centre, the State government will formally request the Union government to hold a tripartite discussion with the AASU at the earliest,’‘ the Chief Minister said.

The State government will prepare an action plan within a month on how to implement the 40 recommendations and hand it over to AASU by October 25. ‘’If the AASU and the State government arrive at a consensus on majority of the recommendations, then the suggestions within the ambit of the State government will be implemented by April 15, 2025,’‘ Mr. Sarma added.