Assam CM Himanta foresees 'end' to AFSPA debate; Congress welcomes move to scale down law

After Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hinted at the partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the state, the Congress party wholeheartedly welcomed such an initiative. Addressing the media on Tuesday, Sarma explained that AFSPA was linked to the presence of the Army in any region and added that the latter was no longer conducting anti-insurgency operations in a large part of the state. Moreover, he assured that the debate surrounding AFSPA would come to an end after a decision on the requirement of this law is taken in February this year. 

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma remarked, "AFSPA is linked with the Army, not with paramilitary (force) or Assam Police. In Assam, already the Army has withdrawn its counterinsurgency operations from a large part of the territory. So, AFSPA is no longer required because Army is not there."

"We have last renewed AFSPA in the month of August. It will come for review on February 28. I had a discussion with the Union Home Minister in this regard. He has given me certain guidelines. We are working on the basis of those guidelines and I am seeing that this debate will come to an end soon," he added.

Reacting to this, Leader of Opposition in Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia contended that P Chidambarm had tried to revoke AFSPA during the UPA regime but was stonewalled by the Defence Ministry. Observing that PM Modi has a "special sentiment" for the people of the Northeast, he expressed hope that the law will be revoked from the state. It is worth noting that BJP's allies Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio and Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma have also demanded the repeal of AFSPA. 

AFSPA repeal demand

Enacted on September 11, 1958, to bring the situation under control in conflict-hit areas, AFSPA was initially implemented in the Northeast followed by Punjab. This law empowers the Armed Forces personnel to use force even to the extent of causing death, destroy structures used as hideouts, training camps, or from where attacks are likely to be launched and arrest anyone without a warrant. At present, AFSPA is in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (excluding Imphal Municipal Council Area), Changlang, Longding and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh, and areas falling within the jurisdiction of Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations in the Namsai district. 

In Jammu and Kashmir, a separate law- Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act has been in place since July 5, 1990. The demand to repeal AFSPA gained momentum after 6 coal mine labourers were killed in an ambush by security forces while they were returning to the Oting village of the Mon district in Nagaland on December 6. In a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on December 23, it was decided to form a committee headed by MHA Additional Secretary N-E  to look into the possibility of withdrawing AFSPA from Nagaland.