Karimganj (Assam), Apr 24 (PTI) Hafiz Ahmed Rashid Choudhury, the Congress candidate from Karimganj, has said the party is contesting the election focusing on two key issues – fundamental rights of people and addressing the diverse challenges faced by the common citizens of Assam.
“On one hand people are faced with the problem of citizenship and on the other, they are struggling to survive because of growing unemployment,” Choudhury told PTI in an interview here.
Karimganj, one of the two Lok Sabha seats in Barak valley, is a sensitive border constituency having a 95.4 km international border with Bangladesh and interstate borders with Mizoram and Tripura.
“People of Karimganj, along with many parts of the state, are faced with the problem of existence and denial of their civil, fundamental and constitutional rights. Our fight is to ensure that people are able to assert their basic fundamental rights,” he said.
Choudhury, a prominent lawyer who has been engaged in legal fights on behalf of many declared as foreigners, said he had opposed the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) on the ground that it is not capable of giving protection to Bengali Hindus who constitute a sizeable population in Barak valley having been displaced over a period of time from neighbouring Bangladesh.
“Once a person applies for citizenship under CAA, they have to declare themselves as a Bangladeshi. After application, the central government may or may not grant citizenship. In case they are not granted citizenship, what will happen to them”, he asked.
“The only place for those denied citizenship will be in detention camps and how long they will be there, nobody knows. There is no treaty with Bangladesh and no other provision to send them back. The CAA is rather detrimental to the interest of the Bengali Hindus,” he added.
The BJP, including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has maintained that citizenship and the ‘D’ or doubtful voters issues of the Bengali Hindus will be resolved within six months after the elections.
“Our Chief Minister made a statement during campaigning in Barak valley that he will solve the problem within six months after elections, but the government cannot do anything about it as the D-Voters’ issue is according to a guideline issued by the Election Commission”, Choudhury said.
The government cannot withdraw it or do anything on its own but it can ask the Chief Election Commissioner that the guideline which was issued in 1997 should be withdrawn, he said.
The concept of ‘D’ voters was introduced in Assam in 1997 by the Election Commission. It does not exist anywhere else in India.
There are 96,987 ‘D’ or doubtful voters in the state, as stated in the assembly by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Additionally, he raised concerns about the closure of industries in the Barak valley and the migration of youth for employment.
“Nobody has taken up the issues seriously or raised the matter in Parliament so far,” he added.
People from Assam, mostly young girls and boys, go to southern states for jobs and work for minimum wages, he said.
“These young people should return and new industries should be set up where they can get employment,” he added.
Choudhury alleged that the Chief Minister has come to Barak Valley five times and “has targeted me in his campaign but I don’t know why he has chosen me as his rival. I am a very simple person who respects the law and is fighting for the rule of the law”.
“Sarma is openly saying his party does not need the 35 per cent votes, meaning the Muslim votes. This type of utterances is rather unfortunate coming from a Chief Minister who has taken oath in the name of the constitution”, he said.
Regarding the crackdown on child marriages with Karimganj having a high prevalence rate, the Congress leader said the priority is to educate the people but they (the government) launched a crackdown and started taking people into custody without any warning.
“He is the only Chief Minister who is targeting the minorities….we say that he is our chief minister but he is not treating people equally. The beauty of India is that we will have to live together which the constitution’s Preamble has given us and we will have to maintain it,” Choudhury asserted. PTI DG MNB
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