AASU warns of massive protests

Guwahati: The All Assam Students’ Union, that is spearheading the agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Assam, on Sunday threatened to organise a massive protest if Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes to open the “Khelo India” games in Guwahati, the state capital, on Juanuary 10 as scheduled.

In what has created tension among sports organisers, the AASU leadership told reporters: “We are keeping a close watch on the forthcoming two mega events — the T-20 match between India and Sri Lanka on January 5 and the Khelo India games from January 10 to 22 in Guwahati.”

The student leaders, however, did not elaborate their action plan about these two mega events. AASU chief Dipankar Kumar Nath said: “We will share our action plan soon after getting confirmation of Mr Modi’s visit. After the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed, the Prime Minister is likely to visit Assam for the first time. If he visits for “Khelo India”, he will have to face a massive protest from people of Assam.”

Asserting that their agitation will continue till the contentious law is not repealed, AASU chief adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya said they are also keeping a close watch on the government’s plans to divert the attention of the people from the movement.

“There are two games happening in Guwahati in the coming days. The first one is the cricket match on January 5 and then ‘Khelo India’. We are keeping a close watch on both,” he said.

When asked repeatedly what he meant by “close watch”, Mr Bhattacharya said: “We will inform you in due course.”

The student leader also regretted that neither the Centre nor the state government was prepared to listen to their genuine grievances and concerns. He said the situation in Assam and the other states of the Northeast cannot be equated with the rest of India. “This part of the country had faced the serious problem of infiltration from Bangladesh, that posed a serious threat to the identity and culture of indigenous people. The condition of the indigenous people of Tripura is a prime example. Of the 40 lakh population in the state, only 12 lakh are indigenous people, but the original Kokborok language is no longer the state language of Tripura. If we allow more Bangladeshi nationals to come to Assam, the condition of Assam’s indigenous people will be the same as of Tripura,” Mr Bhattacharya said, referring the state Cabinet decision acknowledging their concern about language.

Mr Bhattacharya noted that in the last census, the Assamese-speaking people in Assam was only 48 per cent of the total population. If infiltrators are given citizenship, there would be a serious threat to the language of the Assamese and other ethnic groups. Moreover, as the CAA is not applicable in the 6th Schedule areas and areas covered under the Inner Line Permit System, the Valley areas would be the dumping ground of Bangladeshi nationals, he said, reiterating that they were on the streets to save their language and culture.

The AASU chief adviser pointed out that Assam has already taken the burden of Bangladeshi nationals who entered the state illegally from 1951 to 1971, and it was not possible for a small state to take any more foreign nationals. “We do not differentiate foreigners on the basis of religion. As per the Assam Accord, all foreigners who came to Assam after the midnight of March 24, 1971 must be detected and deported irrespective of their religion,” he added. He also said the Prime Minister should not try to equate Assam with the rest of the country as no state in the country had taken the burden of such a large number of foreigners.