Sonowal pledges not to betray people

From Our Correspondent

GUWAHATI: As protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill rages in Assam much to the discomfiture of the BJP-led government, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has said that he would not betray the people who had imposed so much trust on him.
He stated that he was here to establish peace in Assam following the path shown by legendary musicians Bhupen Hazarika and Hemanga Biswas.
“The people of Assam have made me a chief minister with lots of trust and confidence. I am not here to betray the Assamese race. I shall work for the development of Assam till the last moment,” said Sonowal while addressing a meeting at Dhubri in Assam on Wednesday.
“Only we can protect the Assamese race, time will prove it. I have seen governments have come and gone in the past. I have not taken the responsibility of CM just to become a chief minister. I am here to establish peace in Assam following the ideologies of Dr Bhupen Hazarika and Hemanga Biswas,” he said.
The protest against the bill that has been rife in Assam for quite some time, intensified after the BJP-led government got the bill passed in Lok Sabha on January 8 last.
The protest has now spilled to other Northeastern states especially Meghalaya and Manipur where both political and apolitical parties have hit the streets against the bill demanding its withdrawal as it posed a ‘threat’ to the indigenous communities.
The governments of Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland have informed the Centre about the strong opposition to the bill in their respective states.
A whiff of discontentment within the ruling BJP party in Assam over the bill has come to the fore with three of its legislators — Rituparna Baruah, Padma Hazarika and Atul Bora — airing their opposition to it in the wake of loud mass protest in the state.
Sonowal also claimed that there was no reason for alarm regarding the bill among the Assamese people.
Addressing a Bhogali Bihu programme at Nagaon, Sonowal said, “Much is being said about the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. But I would like to assure you all that there is no reason to be alarmed over it. The Narendra Modi-led Central government has already ensured that the identity of the Assamese people is safeguarded,” he added.
The CM further said the Centre was sincere in its determination to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which provides for Constitutional safeguards to protect and preserve the cultural, economic, political identity of the Assamese people. (With PTI inputs)