Monday, January 2 2006 15:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Guwahati: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today (Jan 2, 2006) held a tripartite meeting with the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Assam Government on implementation of the historic Assam Accord and the process for its fulfillment.

Speaking to journalists at the airport here, Patil said the meeting "In the interest of the development of Assam discussed what had been done for fulfillment of the assurances given in the Accord, and the process taken to do so".

Stating "The atmosphere in which the meeting took place was cordial and helpful", he said "On behalf of the Government of India I had exchange of views and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi explained what was being done by the Assam government for implementation of the Accord".

"The AASU was forthright in explaining their point of view. They talked about the economic development of the state, the unemployment problem and the National Citizens Register (NRC)", the Home Minister said.

After the tripartite meeting Patil, Gogoi and an AASU delegation visited the India-Bangladesh border in the Dhubri sector to see how the work of erecting the fence there in one area was going on and also the existing one in another.

The Chief Minister also said "The visit of the Home Minister showed how serious the union government is for implementation of the Assam Accord".

The AASU also expressed their gratefulness.

The last tripartite meeting was held on May five in Delhi with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh where both the Central and State Governments had assured to prepare a time-frame for implementation of the Accord's clauses.