Assam stands opposed to Citizenship Bill, message sent loud and clear to Centre

Guwahati, October 23, 2018:

The people of Assam on Tuesday sent across a message, loud and clear, that they will not accept the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

The entire state remained shut on the day during a 12-hour bandh called jointly by 46 organisations opposing the controversial bill which seeks to grant citizenship to the persecuted non-Muslim immigrants of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The protesting Assamese groups and organisations say through its move to pass the bill, the Narendra Modi government is trying to dump lakhs of “Hindu Bangladeshis” in Assam. The bandh coincided with a meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee which will submit the “final” report on the bill.

The protestors took to the streets damaging vehicles in Upper Assam and burning the effigies of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP state president Ranjit Dass. They also chanted slogans against them and the BJP for imposing the immigrants on the people of Assam.

Train services were disrupted at many places as the protestors squatted on railway tracks. Shops and commercial establishment besides central government offices and educational institutes remained closed across the state. The bandh was “total” despite the state government’s threat to take action against truant employees and commercial establishment which would remain closed.

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which is a constituent of the state’s coalition government and was born out of the Assam Agitation of early 1980s, organised a rally in Guwahati and took out a protest march opposing the Citizenship Bill.

“We will not allow the Centre to pass the proposed bill under any circumstances. If the Centre dares pass it and turns it into an Act, we will immediately pull out our support to the government,” AGP president Atul Bora categorically stated.

He said since the people of Assam stood opposed to the bill and the settlement of “Hindu Bangladeshis” in the state, the Centre should throw the bill into a dustbin.

“Yesterday and the day before, we met the JPC chairman and some of its members. We told them not to ignore the opinions of the people in Assam. They visited Guwahati and Barak Valley but did not go to northern Assam, upper Assam or lower Assam. The duty of the JPC is to submit report and they will do it based on people’s opinions. We told them that they should not submit the report based on the opinions of a section of people. We demanded they visit Assam again before submitting the report. The people of Assam do not accept this bill. If it is passed, the locals will become minority. There is no doubt it threatens the existence of the locals,” Bora said.

Akhil Gogoi, leader of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti which spearheaded the bandh, said it was a protest staged by the people of Assam and not alone the 46 organisations.

“Despite the threats issued by the government, the whole of Assam remained shut responding to the call for bandh. This was because the people of Assam are well aware that this is a dangerous bill and if it is passed, it will threaten the existence of locals, their land and language,” he said.