GUWAHATI: The Assam government is planning to do away with the draconian Armed Forces Special Forces Act (AFSPA) by the end of 2023, informed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during his address at the 77th Independence Day celebrations at the Khanapara Veterinary Field in Guwahati on Tuesday.
“The Assam government is aiming is to completely withdraw the armed forces special powers act (AFSPA) from the state by the end of this year,” he said, adding that the move is aimed at creating an environment of peace and security in the state.
The Chief Minister also added that the Act has already been scrapped from many districts in Assam and since the law and order situation has improved, soon, the Act will be completely lifted from Assam. The draconian Act is currently in force in eight districts of the state.
“AFSPA has already been withdrawn from many districts and improved law and order situation will enable in completely lifting the act from entire Assam,” Sarma said. He further revealed that his tenure has witnessed the integration of more than 8000 militants into mainstream politics through the signing of four peace accords in Assam.
The Chief Minister also hit out at the previous governments for not facilitating the Act’s scrapping in the state. Taking a dig at the Congress, Sarma said that the Grand Old Party’s previous governments had “requested the Centre to extend AFSPA in the state for at least 62 times”.
“Before our government came to power, previous governments had requested the Centre to extend AFSPA 62 times. Now the situation has improved,” he said.
Furthermore, Sarma also underscored his government’s unwavering dedication to transforming Assam into a state free from the grip of drugs and corruption.
With an emphatic stance on maintaining “zero tolerance” towards corruption, Chief Minister Sarma declared that law enforcement agencies have apprehended a total of 127 government employees on charges of graft in the last two years.
Highlighting this accomplishment, the chief minister remarked, “Our administration has undertaken the crucial step of terminating the services of those detained government employees.”
