Dibrugarh, December 2, 2019: In an amusing twist to the Citizenship Bill saga, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was, reportedly, compelled to flee from his house after All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) protesters reached the front of his residence in Dibrugarh. Reports in an online portal Inside Northeast said that a bike rally procession protesting the Bill was headed towards the Assam chief minister’s Lakhkhinagar residence. However, the chief minister chose not to confront them. “The Chief Minister left, because he had a prior engagement in Jorhat, and was afraid that he would be late if he did not leave early.”
However this is move of Sonowal is being interpreted as his decision to leave early in his chopper rather than face the wrath of the AASU members, who have been continually protesting against the Bill. AASU, along with 30 indigenous organizations, has launched bike protests, demanding the Government to immediately scrap the contentious Bill.
It may be mentioned here that many organizations from the Northeast Indian states have been protesting against the Bill, which is expected to be tabled during the ongoing winter session of the Parliament.
Meanwhile, Amit Shah, after a meeting with the various stakeholders, has assured that the tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and States protected with Inner Line Permit (ILP) would be safeguarded from the impact of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, according to reports.