Torch light rally in Guwahati
Guwahati: A torch light procession was taken out here on Saturday by All Assam Students’ Union, the Asam Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, 30 ethnic communities, Silpi Samaj and others to protest against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Several groups and a number of citizens joined the procession as it moved from the office of AASU in Uzan Bazar area of the city to Chandmari.
AASU chief advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya told newsmen that the protest is against the BJP government for imposing the amended citizenship act on Assam by bringing in people from Bangladesh and “threatening the existence, language and culture of the indigenous people”.
AJYCP general secretary Palash Changmai asserted the agitation will continue till CAA is withdrawn. (PTI)
NPF seeks passage of anti-CAA resolution
Kohima: Nagaland Assembly on Saturday witnessed noisy scenes, as opposition Naga People’s Front (NPF) protested against the newly amended Citizenship Act, and insisted that an anti-CAA resolution should be passed in the House, taking a cue from states such as Kerala and Bengal.
Rejecting the demand of the NPF, Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton iterated that the law would not affect the Nagas, as states with Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime have been exempted from its purview.
Opposition Leader TR Zeliang, along with NPF MLAs Chotisuh Sazo and Chumben Murry, during a discussion on matters of public importance, however, reasoned that the ILP would not impede influx of illegal immigrants.
Zeliang also said that Assam, the gateway to the North East, had not been entirely exempted from the purview of the law, making Nagaland, with its porous borders, susceptible to illegal infiltration.
“Let us study the case and find out if the Centre is truly planning to accord citizenship to the persecuted. If that is the case, why only three countries — Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan — have been included in the law? Why not people from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and the Buddhists from Tibet? Does this Act truly stand for what the central government claims, or is it a law to garner votes,” he said.
The senior NPF leader also stated that immigrants in Assam, once granted citizenship, could find their way to other states in the North East.
“Who can stop people in Assam, granted citizenship by the powers vested in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, from making their way into our state,” Zeliang said.
Patton contended that Nagas were fully protected and an anti-CAA resolution was unnecessary.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in December, had given assurances that the law would not have any impact on the people of the state, Patton said, adding that the “state appreciated the central government’s move”. (PTI)
CPI(M)’s tribal wing protests in Agartala
Agartala: The CPI(M)’s tribal wing Tripura Rajya Upajati Gana Mukti Parishad (TRUGMP) took out a march here on Saturday to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
Members of the TRUGMP began the protest march from Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhawan and after touring several areas of the city, it culminated at Swami Vivekananda Ground. The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA), floated by royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, also took out a bike rally in Khumulwng to protest against the contentious Act.
TRUGMP president and former MP Jitendra Chaudhury criticised the CAA, saying that the central government has no policy to tackle unemployment, but is “crying” for the minorities in foreign countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“We want to let Amit Shah and others know that nobody will accept the CAA. The country will turn into Shaheen Bagh, but we will not allow this Act to be implemented,” Chaudhury, who is also the CPI(M)’s central committee member, said.
The CPI(M) also launched a door-to-door campaign in the state against the CAA, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). The campaign is scheduled to continue till March.
Royal scion Debbarma, who resigned from the post of state Congress president last year, led a bike rally with tribal youths in Khumulwng and called on people to agitate against the CAA.
He said, “400 motorbikes will go to villages across the state and spread the message about the downside of the CAA. This is a totally youth-driven movement.”
Both Debbarma and Chaudhury had filed petitions in the Supreme Court, challenging the CAA. (PTI)