People, Opp urged to unite, be wary of ruling party’s plans
GUWAHATI: Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill (FACAAB), a group comprising senior intellectuals and leading citizens, reiterated its firm stand against the Citizenship Amendment Bill and pledged to keep its movement against the contentious legislation going.
The forum, while alleging that the BJP-led NDA government had won the Lok Sabha elections riding on “money power” and publicity through “corporate-owned media and social platforms, appealed to the people and the Opposition parties to stand united for the sake of protecting their Constitutional rights and democracy.
Addressing reporters here on Tuesday, FACAAB chairman, Hiren Gohain said that it would be a misnomer to think that the anti-CAB movement prior to the elections did not have any effect on voter behaviour.
“It has been widely publicized after the election result that the anti-CAB movement in the state did not have any effect on voting behavior, which is incorrect. In fact, in as many as 30 Assembly segments where the ruling party has MLAs, BJP’s vote share has come down, which is an outcome of the anti-CAB agitation,” Gohain claimed.
He further went on to substantiate that the Congress candidate for Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency bagged over six lakh votes, hinting that despite “not being a political heavyweight”, the Congress’ opposition to the legislation had a bearing on the number of votes gained.
“But yes, the tea garden vote went in favour of the ruling party in the central and Upper Assam constituencies,” Gohain added.
He further appealed to the people to be wary of the ruling party’s “strategy” to provide citizenship to several lakh Bangladeshis by bringing CAB again, as it had earlier promised to bring if it retained power.
The FACAAB chairman also alleged that the ruling party won the elections as it could spend astronomical amounts in the poll campaign by garnering several thousand crores from corporate houses.
“In return, it had waived off 5 per cent tax for corporate houses, amounting to several lakh crores, which otherwise could have been spent on development and welfare work,” he added.