The state government on Wednesday hit back at All Assam Students' Union (AASU) for describing the government's white paper on the foreigners issue as a "white lie."
On Wednesday, government spokesman and power minister Pradyut Bordoloi asked the students' body to point out the "lies" in the government's white paper. "This is a white paper on the foreigners issue and not the status paper on implementation of Assam Accord," said Bordoloi. He added that the Aasu might be confused on these two points.
"We have published a white paper based on government facts and figures. We have also incorporated so many government classified documents in the white paper, which were inaccessible to the people."
The government spokesman said other than the Congress, no one has ever been sincere about the foreigners' issue. "We have published the white paper where we have also included the future road to solving the problem. No one can deny this."
He added that the state has been open to influx much before Independence. "The British came here for business and they brought workers from all places to work here," he said.
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 in the state is on for 100 years, which included both internal migration during the British era and influx from erstwhile East Pakistan and later Bangladesh.
According to the white paper, between 1911 and 1971, there was huge migration to the state and the rate of growth of population in the state was higher than the national average. In 1911, Assam's decadal growth rate was 17 per cent against the national rate of 5.8 per cent. In 1921, the growth in the state was 20.5 per cent while the country's figure was just 0.3 per cent.
On Wednesday, government spokesman and power minister Pradyut Bordoloi asked the students' body to point out the "lies" in the government's white paper. "This is a white paper on the foreigners issue and not the status paper on implementation of Assam Accord," said Bordoloi. He added that the Aasu might be confused on these two points.
"We have published a white paper based on government facts and figures. We have also incorporated so many government classified documents in the white paper, which were inaccessible to the people."
The government spokesman said other than the Congress, no one has ever been sincere about the foreigners' issue. "We have published the white paper where we have also included the future road to solving the problem. No one can deny this."
He added that the state has been open to influx much before Independence. "The British came here for business and they brought workers from all places to work here," he said.
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 in the state is on for 100 years, which included both internal migration during the British era and influx from erstwhile East Pakistan and later Bangladesh.
According to the white paper, between 1911 and 1971, there was huge migration to the state and the rate of growth of population in the state was higher than the national average. In 1911, Assam's decadal growth rate was 17 per cent against the national rate of 5.8 per cent. In 1921, the growth in the state was 20.5 per cent while the country's figure was just 0.3 per cent.
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