AASU, NESO call NE bandh on Jan 8 against Bill.
Guwahati:
The All Assam Students Union (AASU). the North East Students Organization (NESO) and
30 other groups have
announced a series of protests in Assam over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. 2016. I waders of these outfits representing different
indigenous communities
of Assam met here on Saturday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared
in Silchar that his government was going ahead with the controversial Bill. "We
have called for a bandh across the entire northeast on January 8 in protest
against the BJP-led government’s move to pass the controversial Bill. A total
dawn to dusk bandh will be observed in all the states," said NESO adviser
Samujjal Bhattacharyya. The organisations have also decided to observe January 7 as a black day in
Assam. A public rally will be held in Guwahati on January 23.
"The
Prime Minister's statement exposed the double standards of his
government. While the
government talks of implementing the Assam Accord, the same government is trying to give citizenship to illegal migrants
living in Assam by implementing the Citizenship Bill 2016. We are not going to tolerate
this at any cost," AASU General
Secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi said.
He called Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal a "puppet * and said the government in the state had failed to respect the sentiments of the people of Assam. On Saturday, a total of 70 groups led by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) organised a massive protest rally in Guwahati.KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi dared the Asom Gana Parishad to snap ties with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
