Anti-CAB protests rock Assam, north east even as HM holds meetings with CMs in Delhi

Image Courtesy: EPS 

Guwahati, November 29, 2019: The proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill -2019 (CAB, 2019 is causing shock waves, disturbing the socio-political situation in north-east India. Since the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on November 18 in Parliament where he said not only that CAB will be passed in the present session of Parliament but also that (a fresh) NRC will be implemented in the state of Assam along with other parts of India, huge discontent has broken out.

Soon after the statement of Union Home Minister, the BJP-ruled governments of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, declared their opposition to these moves and clarified that Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur will not take any responsibility for the implementation of CAB in their States. Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, which have the government of NEDA (North-East Democratic Alliance), a regional alliance of the BJP in the North-East, has also declared its opposition to the proposed CAB and refused implementation of the bill if it becomes law, in their state.

In Assam too, several organisations, including AASU (All Assam Students’ Union), otherwise having cordial relationship with BJP, have launched massive protests meetings across the state against CAB. The Left-Democratic Front, Congress and KMSS too have started various protest meetings against CAB all over Assam. Intellectuals of the State and various other organisations have also joined in the vocal opposition to CAB.

Assam, in fact, witnessed unprecedented protests within the Assam Assembly on its first day of winter session of the legislative assembly. Just after the assembly met and four of its newly elected members took over oath of office, the Indian National Congress (INC) MLA, Wazed Ali Choudhury raised an adjournment motion demanding an urgent discussion on CAB. When the Speaker Hitendra Nath Gaswami, rejected the demand, wanting to hear views on the admissibility of the motion, the Congress and AIUDF MLAs went to the well and started shouting slogans in support of their demand. When the speaker tried to pacify them, the Congress MLAs lay down in the well. In this situation of chaos, the speaker tried to run the house, even while the Congress MLA’s continued staging their demonstration in the well of the house. This continued for about half an hour. At that point the Congress MLAs walked out the house and staged demonstration at the entrance of the assembly. The Congress MLAs remained in ‘sleeping protest’ at the entrance of the Assembly and continued sloganeering against the Government and CAB. Speaking to Sabrang India, the Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed said, “Congress has created history today. The opposition besieged the entrance of the ruling party for more than half an hour. The Speaker didn’t allow us to speak in the Assembly, but everyone has heard the voice of our opposition to CAB, which is against the spirit of our Constitution, against Assam and the people of Assam.”

While the Assembly was witnessing these scenes of high drama around CAB, hundreds of supporters of the Left-Democratic Mancha, a united platform of 10 political parties in Assam including CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), RCPI, RSP, Forward Block, Janata Dal (Secular), Asom Sangrami Mancha, staged a sit-in demonstration at Dispur Last Gate.

Unfazed by the protests, Assam’s strongman and finance minister, Himanta Biswa Sharma defended the Modi government’s move to re-introduce CAB. He said, “The CAB will be passed for the greater interest of Assamese People. There is opposition in some of the North-Eastern States, which will be shorted out. There will be series of meetings in New Delhi on November 29 and 30, 2019, where this will happen. Biswas said that at these series of meetings, the union Home Ministry will talk to all chief ministers, all nationalist organisations of the region, where all of their concerns will be dealt with comprehensively. ”

Meanwhile, several North-Easten Chief Minister, heads of various Political Parties, non-Political Organisations of North-East, have been invited by union home minister, Amit Shah to have discussions on CAB.

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