Guwahati : The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and 28 other organisations, representing various ethnic and tribal communities today have staged an 11-hour hunger strike in Guwahati protest against the Citizenship (Ammendment) Bill, 2016.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which proposed to grant citizenship to the illegal migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India upto December 31, 2014.
Leaders, workers and supporters of AASU and other 28 organisations took part in the mass hunger strike in Guwahati which started 6 am on Tuesday.
Apart from the students organisations and few ethnic and tribal groups, Assam State Government Employees Association, prominent artists, singer, national award winner film director Jahnu Baruah had also took part in the hunger strike.
AASU and 28 other organisations also demanded an error free National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Top leaders of the students group said that, the Centre and the Assam government will face massive protests in coming days if the bill is not
withdrawn.
On the other hand, the pro-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) engaged in dialogues with the Centre warned that they would withdraw from the peace process if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by parliament.
General Secretary of ULFA’s pro-talk faction group Anup Chetia warned that, if the bill is not withdrawn then several youths of the state are ready to take up arms again.
Recently (May 7-10), 16-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) led by BJP MP Rajendra Agarwala had visited Assam and Meghalaya and took public hearing and most of organisations in Brahmaputra Valley in the state had submitted their opinions against the bill.
Advisor of AASU Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya said that, AASU and 28 other organisations have opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, because it’s a communal and unconstitutional bill.
“The Assam Accord clearly mentioned that, those (he may be muslim, he may be hindu) entered into Assam after 1971, he must be deported. Assam had taken huge burden of foreigners who entered into the state before 1971. Assam is a small state and cann’t take more burden beyond 1971. We warned the Union and state government that, Assam and the North East is not dumping for illegal Bangladeshis,” the Assam student leader said.
On the other hand, pro-talk ULFA leader Anup Chetia said that, ULFA had raised the issue in the last discussion with the Union government.
“If the bill will pass then the ongoing peace to be derailed and young generation of the state will go to path of violence and will join United Liberation Front of Asom – Independent. Some situation like as ‘80s, ‘90s will be arised,” Anup Chetia said.
(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
