The opposition Congress on Wednesday flayed the BJP-led Assam government, accusing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of using the Assam Accord issue to distract the public from alleged corruption involving his family.
Addressing a joint press conference here, Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia and the state Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah claimed that the state government’s focus on implementing 57 recommendations of the Justice Biplab Kumar Sarma Committee has no real basis, as only the central government can execute such actions.
Borah argued that the Chief Minister is attempting to mislead the people ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, using the Assam Accord as a smokescreen to cover up corruption allegations.
He asserted that the key clauses of the accord, which address the detection and deportation of illegal immigrants, remain untouched.
He wondered why hasn’t the state government provided a clear plan for implementing the 57 clauses, and that, why is there no word from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the matter.
Saikia also criticized the state BJP for not forwarding the committee’s report to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, despite having it since 2020.
He noted that the state government had set up a separate committee in 2021 to develop a framework for implementing the accord, but no progress has been made so far.
Signed in 1985 after a violent anti-foreigner movement, the accord mandates the identification and deportation of all foreigners who entered the state after March 25, 1971.
Despite the government’s recent announcements, Congress leaders expressed doubt over the sincerity and feasibility of the accord’s implementation under the current regime.