Anti-citizenship bill stir growing, BJP MLAs join

Guwahati: In what has given fresh impetus to the ongoing anti-citizenship bill movement, at least 28 ethnic outfits and prominent civil society members, including film personalities, artists, writers and intellectuals of Assam came out on Tuesday to join a hungerstrike to protest over the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.

The hungerstrike was called by the All-Assam Students’ Union (AASU) from 6 am at the Assam Engineering Institute field at Chandamari. People from all walks of life joined in the fast, which came a day after large-scale protests across the state. The protesters not only burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, they also blocked rail and road traffic at various places. AASU members blocked rail traffic at Sarupathar, prompting the police to detain a number of agitators.

Thousands of slogan-shouting protesters, holding banners against the bill, marched through towns across the state, before submitting memoranda addressed to the Prime Minister to the respective district deputy commissioners.

The agitators shouted slogans refusing to take the “burden of foreigners” and criticised the BJP-led government in the state for supporting the Centre’s attempt to amend the bill, which they described as “a destroyer of ethnicity, culture and language of the local indigenous people of Assam”.

The day-long hungerstrike, which ended around 5 pm Tuesday, was also supported by the state government employees’ union.

The growing public protests have forced ruling party legislators to join the chorus of Opposition to the bill. State cultural affairs minister Naba Kumar Doley said the issue was related to people’s emotions and the government would not do anything to harm Assam’s interests. “We cannot accept Bangladeshis. I will not remain an MLA if they are allowed to come in. We will force them to leave,” BJP MLA Binod Hazarika told a public meeting in his constituency, Chabua.

Bokajan MLA Numal Momin said the Assamese people could not become a minority community in their own state, and that he would always work for the indigenous people of the state.

Other BJP MLAs, including Suren Phukan, Terash Gowalla, Jogen Mohan and Debananda Hazarika, said the chief minister will not do anything that will harm the interests of Assam and its people. It is significant that the Assam BJP has warned its legislators not to comment on the Citizenship (Amend-ment) Bill 2016, which the BJP was pushing in Parliament.

AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said: “There is a continuous people’s movement against the bill. Organisations, individuals and various other forums have united, as the proposed bill will cause great damage to Assam’s political future and the survival of its indigenous people, their identity, culture and land.” He said: “The Centre should immediately take steps to withdraw the bill from Parliament.”

Students leaders said the bill will make fundamental alterations in the citizenship and immigration norms by relaxing the requirements for Indian citizenship.

The Asom Yuba Chatra Parishad, All Boro Students’ Union, All-Assam Adivasi Students’ Union, Missing Students’ Union, Gorkha Students’ Union, Sodou Assam Karmachari Parishad, former Ulfa members, and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, among others, joined the protests.