AASU Kickstarts Agitation Against Citizenship Bill in Assam

Guwahati, November 4, 2019:

The All Assam Students' Union (AASU), the apex student body of the State, is staging protests all across the State to condemn the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

ALSO READ: ‘World Sunday School Day’ Celebrated Across Nagaland

AASU General Secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi told Inside Northeast that democratic protests are already underway in Assam and the people of Assam, by and large, oppose the Bill. "We have launched protests all over the State of Assam, as speculation is rife that the Government will introduce the contentious Bill in the next session of Parliament."

Intimating that NESO, the conglomeration of all student bodies in the Northeast will launch protests on November 18 with the beginning of the Parliamentary session, Lurin said that Assam will never accept the Bill, as the CAB is against the ethos of the Assam Accord.

"We will not let this Bill pass, as it is against the values of the Assam Accord. They (Government) are trying to force it down our our throats -- whether we like it or not -- but we vow to oppose it through democratic means", Gogoi added.

ALSO READ: Pradyot Manikya Demands Land Rights for Bru Refugees in Tripura

It may be mentioned here that the The Indian Citizenship Amendment Bill was proposed in the Lok Sabha on July 19, 2016, amending the Citizenship Act of 1955.

If this Bill is passed in the Parliament, illegal migrants from minority communities like Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan will be eligible for Indian citizenship.

Support Inside Northeast (InsideNE), an independent media platform that focuses on Citizen-centric stories from Northeast India that are surprising, inspiring, cinematic and emotionally relevant.