Accepting Aasu's challenge, chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday said he is ready for a face off with the students' body over the white paper on foreigners' issue. The chief minister added that he is ready to discuss the issue with any other organization.
On October 20, Gogoi released the white paper on influx which has always been the central poll plank of all political parties in every election. The white paper also happens to be the first-ever documentation of the problem by any state government. But it has drawn criticism from various sections of society.
Gogoi, who is in New Delhi now, said, "Aasu is talking about half truths in the white paper. I am asking them to show me these. The white paper contains facts and figures from government records and court orders." The chief minister even asked Aasu to publish its own separate white paper on the subject. "Aasu has every right to publish one and they can go to the people with it. If I have missed out on anything in the white paper, it should tell me specifically. I am open to discussion, not just with AASU alone, but others too."
Aasu has described the white paper as a "white lie". Last Wednesday, government spokesman and power minister Pradyut Bordoloi had asked the students' body to point out the "lies" in the government's white paper and clarified that the document is on the foreigners' issue and not a status paper on implementation of Assam Accord. The Aasu leadership, later, countered this by saying that the document cannot be called a white paper and can be called a note on the foreigners' issue.
While releasing the white paper on October 20, Gogoi said the government is fully seized of the problem and is committed to expediting the process of detection of illegal migrants. The white paper states that migration to the state is on for 100 years, which included both internal migration during the British period and influx from erstwhile East Pakistan, and later Bangladesh.
On October 20, Gogoi released the white paper on influx which has always been the central poll plank of all political parties in every election. The white paper also happens to be the first-ever documentation of the problem by any state government. But it has drawn criticism from various sections of society.
Gogoi, who is in New Delhi now, said, "Aasu is talking about half truths in the white paper. I am asking them to show me these. The white paper contains facts and figures from government records and court orders." The chief minister even asked Aasu to publish its own separate white paper on the subject. "Aasu has every right to publish one and they can go to the people with it. If I have missed out on anything in the white paper, it should tell me specifically. I am open to discussion, not just with AASU alone, but others too."
Aasu has described the white paper as a "white lie". Last Wednesday, government spokesman and power minister Pradyut Bordoloi had asked the students' body to point out the "lies" in the government's white paper and clarified that the document is on the foreigners' issue and not a status paper on implementation of Assam Accord. The Aasu leadership, later, countered this by saying that the document cannot be called a white paper and can be called a note on the foreigners' issue.
While releasing the white paper on October 20, Gogoi said the government is fully seized of the problem and is committed to expediting the process of detection of illegal migrants. The white paper states that migration to the state is on for 100 years, which included both internal migration during the British period and influx from erstwhile East Pakistan, and later Bangladesh.
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