SC verdict on Assam Accord not historic, I've mixed reaction: Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday expressed a "mixed reaction of happiness and sorrow" regarding the Supreme Court judgment on the cut-off date of the Assam Accord. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official function on Sunday, Sarma emphasised that the Assamese people will have to move forward through "struggles." "I don't know if this judgment is historic or not. The government enacted the Assam Accord, so its stand in the court was that the cut-off date should be 1971. However, many people in Assam wished the cut-off date to be 1951," he said when asked for his comments on the judgment. In a majority verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act which grants Indian citizenship to immigrants who came to Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971. A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, said the Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of