Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma yet to react to SC verdict on Section 6A
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has maintained silence on the Supreme Court's recent judgment upholding the validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
This section grants citizenship to immigrants from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) who entered Assam before March 1971.
The Chief Minister's silence is particularly notable as he is known to react to nearly all issues concerning Assam and even some smaller ones.
The Supreme Court's verdict, delivered on October 17, 2024, upheld the cut-off date of March 1971 for determining citizenship, as per the Assam Accord.
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While the CM is known to post certain topics on his official X handle and go live on Facebook each night, this time he has not made any statement even after 24 hours.
The Supreme Court of India has upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which recognizes the Assam Accord.
A 5-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, ruled in favour of the provision with a 4:1 majority.
The court held that the Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of illegal migration, and Section 6A was the legislative solution.
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The majority ruled that Parliament had the legislative competence to enact the provision.
It may be mentioned that Section 6A was enacted to balance humanitarian concerns with the need to protect the local population.
The court found that singling out Assam from other states sharing a larger border with West Bengal was rational due to the higher percentage of immigrants among the local population.
The cut-off date of March 25, 1971, was deemed rational, as it marked the end of the Bangladesh liberation war.
However, Justice JB Pardiwala delivered a dissenting judgment, holding Section 6A as unconstitutional.
The Assam Accord was negotiated in 1985 between the Indian government and representatives of the Assam Movement to address illegal immigration from Bangladesh.
Section 6A provided citizenship to immigrants meeting specific criteria.