GUWAHATI: All Assam Students’ Union has pledged to take the democratic agitation and the legal proceedings against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 forward if the legislation is passed in Parliament.
“We will take the democratic agitation against the Bill forward while simultaneously continuing with the legal proceedings in Supreme Court against two notifications by the Centre (allowing migrants entering India from Bangladesh on or before December 31, 2014, to stay in India without valid documents),” AASU chief adviser, Samujjal Bhattacharya told the media on Tuesday.
He further said the Bill was a threat to the survival of indigenous communities and that the students union was in touch with legal experts in regard to the subsequent course of action if the legislation is passed.
Bhattacharya, who is also the advisor of the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), of which AASU along with seven other unions/federations are members, said that the support across the region to the 11-hour North East Bandh on Tuesday would send a clear message that such an “anti-indigenous” legislation could not be imposed by the Centre.
“The Centre is clearly adopting double standards as the pre-poll commitment was that the Bangladeshis would have to pack their bags and leave the country. But the Bill, which the government is trying to pass, only welcomes them. The Bill violates the Assam Accord, something which the Union home and law ministries had pointed out when the joint parliamentary committee had sought its views,” he said.
