AASU Imposes 3 Months' Cooling Period for Office Bearers' Political Entry

Guwahati, October 29, 2019:

In a bid to retain its image as an 'apolitical' organization, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) has decided to impose a 3 months' cooling period for AASU office bearers who want to join political outfits.

This decision was unanimously agreed upon at the recent general conference of the AASU which took place at Jonai in Assam's Dhemaji district. The meeting came to a conclusion on Saturday.

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Speaking on the matter, AASU General Secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi told Inside Northeast, "Switching to political parties immediately after leaving AASU might lead to confusion. It is a matter of the AASU's reputation, as some of these parties could be ideologically opposed to the AASU's principles. Members who do not adhere to this resolution will be counted as 'expelled'. That is the decision of the AASU."

The student body, which began as an apolitical organization, has seen an exodus of many of its leaders to prominent political parties. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal himself is an AASU expatriate.

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Moreover, many of the leaders of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the party birthed from the wombs of the Assam Agitation, were originally from the student organization. The first (and only) AGP Chief Minister, Prafulla Mahanta, along with many members of his Cabinet, were from the AASU.

Assam's current Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma too was an office-bearer of the AASU.

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