NEW DELHI: Former Assam chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Sunday warned the Centre that a “volatile” situation will arise in the state if the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed by the Rajya Sabha.
The two-time chief minister and founder-president of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) said the state is witnessing a mass uprising, similar to the Assam agitation of 1979-85, against the proposed legislation and the situation may turn worse if the NDA government “doesn’t respect” people’s sentiment.
“Situation in Assam will be very volatile if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed by the Rajya Sabha. The Modi government will be responsible for it,” Mahanta, who is now in Delhi to campaign against the bill, told PTI.
“When the Assam Accord was signed in 1985, all political parties, including the BJP, had welcomed it. But the BJP-led government wants to ruin it now. The bill also violates the basic tenants of the Constitution as it provides for citizenship on the basis of religion,” he said.
Mahanta said the bill also violates the Supreme Court verdict on the famous Keshavanand Bharti case, which made it clear that basic structure of the Constitution is inviolable and hence can’t be amended by Parliament.
Mahanta alleged that the BJP is completely ignoring the sentiment of the Assamese people. “It talks about something but does something else,” he said.
The senior leader also claimed that there are intelligence reports about the current unrest in the North East and the central government is aware about them. “If the government goes ahead with the bill, situation will be very difficult,” he said. (PTI)
