BJP putting Citizenship Bill in manifesto is insult to indigenous people of NE: Samujjal Bhattacharya

Guwahati, April 8, 2019:

After the announcement of implementation Citizenship (Amendment) Bill by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya, who played a key role in anti-CAB protests, has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has insulted the indigenous people of Assam and North East with the announcement.

Speaking to InsideNE, Samujjal Bhattacharya said, “It is an insult to the indigenous people of Assam and North East and we refuse to accept it. Due to continued agitations in Assam and across the North East, they failed to introduce it in the Rajya Sabha. Despite the people of North-East making their resentment known, national president Amit Shah also announced that they would implement the Bill. Now, they have announced it in their manifesto. So, the protests of the people against the draconian Bill will continue. No one has the right to play with the future of the indigenous people of North East, and we have warned the BJP.”

Slamming the saffron party for its refusal to listen to the voices of the indigenous people, he added: “The BJP is planning to bring this Bill back only to secure their vote bank. It is a communal and unconstitutional Bill violating the Assam Accord. AASU’s stand is very clear as AASU and NESO stood together during the movement against the Bill. The Bill itself is an anti-indigenous and anti-North East. They are trying to overlook the voices of democracy in Assam and the North East.”