LoP Debabrata Saikia seeks SC intervention against state’s Arms Licence scheme
Saikia stated that such a policy would violate fundamental rights and could reignite tensions in the State.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia.
Guwahati, June 6: Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia has opposed the State Cabinet’s recent decision to bring in a new scheme for providing arms licence to eligible original inhabitants and indigenous Indian citizens residing in vulnerable, remote, and border areas, and asserted that “this unconstitutional action will jeopardize Assam’s hard-won peace”.
Saikia stated that such a policy would violate fundamental rights and could reignite tensions in the State.
“Arming civilians along communal lines is a recipe for disaster. The Assam government’s promotion of vigilante justice demonstrates an abdication of its constitutional responsibility to support law enforcement. They should remember that peace cannot be sustained at gunpoint. Following a history of significant unrest, Assam’s populace has at last experienced a degree of peace. The BJP government should not jeopardize this delicate balance. Assam needs progress, not pistols. Assam needs development, not death,” he said.
In letters addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, the senior Congress leader sought immediate Central intervention to revoke what he termed a “dangerous and divisive policy”.
The Leader of the Opposition emphasised that Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law, making community-specific arms distribution fundamentally discriminatory. He expressed grave concern that this decision comes when Assam has finally achieved relative stability after decades of insurgency and conflict.
The letters cite precedents from other conflict zones, where similar policies led to the proliferation of illegal arms and escalation of petty disputes into fatal encounters.
Saikia also warned about the policy’s dangerous demographic implications, noting that selective armament could deepen existing social divides and potentially create new armed factions.
He asserted that Assam’s fragile peace was built through years of dialogue and confidence-building measures and not through arming communities against each other.
Appealing for immediate reversal of the decision, Saikia has urged the Central government to intervene before the situation escalates.
He also called for strengthening professional law enforcement mechanisms “instead of promoting civilian armament”.