N-E boils: Parties, civil groups plan joint move to block CAB

Guwahati: The Opposition Congress on Thursday took out a procession in the Assam Assembly premises against the Citizenship Amendment Bill while the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and 30 other outfits are meeting here to formulate a joint strategy to block the controversial bill that the BJP is determined to pass during the Winter Session of Parliament.

Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia, his deputy Rekibul Hussain and former minister Ajanta Neog led the protest. The Congress legislators walked through the corridors of the Assembly building and marched to the entrance of the House floor carrying a banner decrying the CAB and raising slogans. They sought scrapping of the CAB and implementation of the 1985 Assam Accord in letter and spirit.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has, meanwhile,  directed the AICC to challenge the bill not only in Parliament but also in the courts.

AASU chief adviser Sammujjal Bhattacharjee, who was holding a marathon meeting of its central executive on Thursday, said that they are determined to oppose this bill, but this time they won’t allow the academic session of students to be affected by the agitation. Clarifying they are also seeking suggestions from guardians to decide their next course of action, Mr Bhattacharya said they will ensure that the plan for an agitation doesn’t disrupt their education.

Mr Bhattacharya also voiced surprise over the government’s statement that it would exclude the Sixth Schedule areas and states where the Inner Line Permit system is in force. “How is a law that is not good for a part of the Northeast like ILP-administered states and Sixth Schedule areas be good for remaining parts of the Northeast states like Assam and Tripura?” Mr Bhattacharyya asked.

The National People’s Party led by Meghalaya chief minister Cornad Sangma, which is a part of the North-East Democratic Alliance linked to the BJP, has also decided to oppose the bill. The party’s spokesperson, Jarpum Gamlin, said its central committee had passed a resolution that it would oppose the CAB.

The bill is likely to be moved in the Lok Sabha on December 9 and in the Rajya Sabha on December 10.

Asom Jatiyabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) general secretary Palash Changmai  told reporters: “The BJP-led government at the Centre in its political interest to hold on to power wants to impose this legislation on us, which threatens the existence of the people of Assam and the Northeast.”

The anti-CAB movement has intensified since November 11 when the AJYCP, AASU, RTI activist Akhil Gogoi-led KMSS and the Indigenous Forum, Assam, led by pro-talk Ulfa leaders Anup Chetia, Mrinal Hazarika and human rights activists Lachit Bordoloi, have been separately protesting across Assam. They have been raising slogans against the BJP-led Central and Assam governments for allegedly adopting an “anti-Assam policy to settle illegal Hindu migrants in the state by amending the Citizenship Act, thereby changing the state’s demographic pattern.”