GUWAHATI: Members of 60 organisations of Assam, led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), took to the streets here on Tuesday to sensitise people against the Centre’s proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
As part of the week-long agitation launched against the Bill, activists of the organisations shouted slogans and distributed leaflets among pedestrians and vehicle drivers in the city while taking out a protest rally from the Chandmari area.
KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi, while speaking to mediapersons earlier, said that the agitation has been launched to “expose” the “fake promises” of BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
“This public awareness initiative is aimed at unveiling the real picture behind the fake promises made by the central and state governments. The Citizenship Bill will sound a death knell for the Assamese people and therefore must be scrapped at any cost. Our fight against the Bill has begun and will continue till justice is delivered,” Gogoi said.
The Citizenship Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship.
Palash Changmai, general secretary of Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad, alleged that the BJP government has till date made false promises on the Bill by saying that it would not harm the interests of the indigenous communities of Assam.
“We are therefore distributing about 30 lakh leaflets among the people of Assam to communicate this reality that the BJP is only spreading misinformation and making false promises,” Changmai said.