Agitation will continue till Act is withdrawn; BJP trying to discredit anti-CAA movement — Rawat

Guwahati, Dec. 20 (PTI): The opposition Congress on Friday said the BJP-led government is trying to “discredit” the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act movement and “create divisions” among the agitators, not only in Assam but across the country.

Addressing a press conference here, All India Congress Committee General Secretary Harish Rawat said the agitation will continue till the Act is withdrawn and the only solution for the government is to repeal the law.

“There is an attempt to malign and derail the peoples’ movement. There is an attempt to divide the movement by means of spreading false narratives. But the government’s nefarious designs and conspiracies have got exposed,” said Rawat, in- charge of Assam unit of the Congress.

He claimed that the protests witnessed across the country were spontaneous and alleged that BJP was able to get the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) through Parliament by a “manufactured majority” by resorting to defections and coercion.

“University students, professors, academicians, cine actors, artistes, IT professionals — all segments of the society have hit the streets because people know that the peace, solidarity and social harmony of India is under threat.

It is against the Indian ethos and against our principle of secularism and equality of all religions,” he added.

The former chief minister of Uttarakhand also slammed the BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for their allegations that the ongoing agitation is instigated by the Congress party.

“The nefarious design of the state government here has been laid bare. Just like in Delhi, here also they tried to infiltrate the agitation of the students. The conspiracy of the government against the people will not be tolerated.

“They are now saying that Congress incited violence.

What proof does the government have? They want to demonise the opposition,” he added.

Rawat claimed that the CAA will not be implemented in the Congress-ruled states across the country.

“The state governments run by the Congress party will not implement it, whether in Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh or Puducherry. In Assam also, if we come to power in the 2021 Assembly elections, we will put the Act in the place where it deserves to be.

“And if we come to power in the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, then we will scrap the CAA,” he added.

Rawat also demanded immediate release of peasant leader Akhil Gogoi, who is now under NIA custody.

The senior Congress leader claimed that the ongoing protest against the Act has taken the shape of a national movement and the agitation will continue until the government scraps the controversial law.

“The whole country has now stood up against the draconian law. The entire country is now standing shoulder- to-shoulder with the wishes and aspirations of the people of Assam, which was the first state to express its reservation and anguish against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, now Act, as it violates provisions of the Assam Accord,” he added.

Rawat said that it was the students and the civil society of Assam who first raised their voice against the Bill and now it has become the democratic cry of the entire country against the CAA.

Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi said while fighting the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act case in the Supreme Court, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had filed an affidavit mentioning that there are 50-60 lakh foreigners in Assam.

“Now he is saying that the number of foreigners is negligible. So his affidavit was false. The Central government, in its affidavit in the same case, cited various reasons for infiltrations from Bangladesh. But religious persecution was not mentioned as one of the reasons,” he added.

Gogoi said there is also no mention of the term “religious persecution” in the CAA.

“Why is the term religious persecution not mentioned? The Bangladesh government has asked for a list of its citizens in India and said it is ready to take such people back. The Central government should provide such a list. The CAA has been imposed by the BJP for political reasons and for votes,” he said.

Gogoi further said that the Act has been brought to divert the attention of the masses from the government’s failure on the economic front.