Assam: Thousands from Bengali-Assamese Community Throng Tinsukia Streets to Oppose 'CAA'

Tinsukia, December 22, 2019

Thousands of people from the Bengali-Assamese community today poured out onto streets of Assam’s Tinsukia district in opposition to the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The streets were filled with a massive protest rally and slogans like “Joi Aai Axom” and “We Oppose CAA” echoed, giving out a clear message that the Bengali people of Assam equally share the concerns of ‘outsiders’ coming in to the state.

ALSO READ: AGP Leaders not Letting me Speak against CAA, alleges Ex-Assam CM Prafulla Kr Mahanta

The Bengali-Assamese community took out the rally from the Swahid Piyoli Phukan Maidan and they rallied across the district to protest against the CAA.

One of the protesters said that the current government enacted the Citizenship Bill despite knowing that the Indian Constitution has the word ‘secular’ in it. “All the communities practicing different religions are to be preserved by the Constitution. But by this Act, they have not only violated the Indian Constitution but also the Assam Accord, which states that nobody will be provided with citizenship who arrived in the country post 1971.”

ALSO READ: CAA Row: Curfew to be Imposed in Assam’s Tinsukia from 8 pm Today

He added that the Act blemished the Assam Accord and hurt the sentiments of the people of Assam. “We, the Bengali people all over Assam, including Tinsukia, are a part and parcel of the Assamese community. We take Assam as our motherland,” he said.

It may be mentioned here that Assam has been witnessing widespread agitation over the CAA since the past few days. The district administration of Tinsukia had imposed a curfew on Saturday and Sunday in view of the ongoing protests against the CAA.

The Bengali community, which rallied through the streets of Tinsukia has set yet another example of Assam’s rejection of the CAA.

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.