Protests against new citizenship law continue to rock Assam

Guwahati, Jan. 20 (PTI): Protests against the amended Citizenship Act continued across Assam on Monday, as black flags were shown against a number of ministers and members of the ruling alliance.

The opposition Congress took out a protest march at Numaligarh in Golaghat district, which saw the participation of state unit chief Ripun Bora, Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi and other MLAs.

At Mangaldoi in Darrang district, All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and 30 other indigenous groups also organised a public rally against the new citizenship law.

“The BJP government should know that… we are indigenous and Assamese. Sarbananda Sonowal, Himanta Biswa Sarma do not have the courage to tell Delhi that we don’t accept the CAA. There is no place for fundamentalism and Bangladeshis in Assam,” AASU Chief Adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya asserted.

Thousands of people rallied at Selenghat in Jorhat, demanding immediate release of Akhil Gogoi and other Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leaders, who were arrested by the NIA.

Meanwhile, black flags were shown to a number of leaders belonging to the BJP and the Asom Gana Parishad, including Agriculture Minister and AGP president Atu Bora, AGP MLA Renupama Rajkhowa and Assam Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Jayanta Malla Baruah.

CAA ‘by-product’ of Assam NRC — Mizoram oppn leader
Lalduhoma, leader of Mizoram’s main opposition party Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), on Monday termed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as a “by-product” of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

Lalduhoma, while addressing a party programme here, said that the country has been divided into two camps — one that supports CAA and is in favour of establishing a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and the other which is opposed to it.

He alleged that the CAA was introduced by the BJP government to “calm down” those people whose names have been excluded in the final updated NRC list in Assam.

“CAA is nothing but a by-product of NRC,” he said.