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G Vinayak in Guwahati
Assam Governor S K Sinha and the newly-installed Congress government are heading for a major confrontation over the contentious issue of scrapping the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983, popularly known as IM(DT).
Sinha has been in the eye of the storm ever since he apparently made a volte face on the issue during his customary opening address to the new state assembly last month. During the official address, Sinha had to air the Congress government's view, bound as he is by the convention of endorsing the elected government's agenda.
The Congress has always been opposed to the scrapping of the Act. The governor thus had to toe the Congress line, which runs contrary to his personal position on the issue. In a report to President in November 1998, Sinha had recommended, among other things, that the Act be scrapped.
The day after his address to the state assembly, General Sinha was criticised for his contradictory stand on the issue. Stung by the criticism, Sinha issued a statement that he was only reflecting the elected government's view and that he was still in favour of scrapping the Act.
The governor's statement prompted Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to say that the "governor should refrain from airing his personal opinions in legal and constitutional matters concerning the state."
The IM (DT), enacted in 1983, is meant to detect, deport and disenfranchise foreigners. Its critics, however, say that the Act is discriminatory since it is only applicable in Assam and runs contrary to the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1954, used in the rest of the country to detect aliens.
Under the IM(DT), unlike the Foreigners Act, the onus of proving a person to be a foreigner lies on the complainant. Except the Congress, most other political parties are in favour of scrapping the Act. The Congress, dependent on the Muslims for its votes, says the IM (DT) protects the minorities from undue harassment.
The row between the governor and the state government is likely to take a serious turn in the coming days with Gogoi announcing that his administration will file a revised affidavit in the Supreme Court, which is hearing a PIL on IM(DT).
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