Assam Assembly speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami adds voice to anti-Bill Movement

Guwahati, January 10, 2019:

The opposition of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 has taken new turns as the Assam Assembly speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami too has come out to condemn the Bill and stated that the decision to pass the Bill was taken by the BJP government “in haste” and was taken without taking the indigenous people of the state into confidence.

It is to be mentioned that Goswami is a former Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) member who had joined the BJP in 2016. The AGP has recently severed ties with the BJP over the implementation of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and three leading AGP Ministers, including party President Atul Bora, tendered their resignations yesterday.

In a statement released by Goswami, he stated that he has been touched by the protests raging over the controversial Bill. Taking a dig at the BJP government, he also stated that his conscience will not allow him to accept any Bill that might harm the interests of the indigenous people, but yet, at the same time, added that it is his duty to show respect to the party’s democratic system due to holding a constitutional post.

Goswami’s voice adds to a mounting number of voices which are being raised against the Bill, which includes Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, a party ally, who has also spoken about the possibilities of severing ties with the BJP.

Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) have also shown their distaste for the Bill, which could potentially open the floodgates to a foreigner-influx into the state.