Guwahati: Soon after the ministry of home affairs notified Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules, the All Assam Students Union (AASU) here on Monday announced a series of agitational programmes that will commence from Tuesday in Assam.
The CAA is seen in Assam as a violation of the 1985 Assam Accord, which stipulated that only those foreigners who had come into the state before March 24, 1971, would be included as citizens. The CAA, in contrast, set the cut-off date for citizenship at December 31, 2014. It was also seen as contrary to the whole process of NRC enumeration in Assam, which was carried out for the precise purpose of weeding out illegal immigrants.
Asserting that Assam is not going to accept it, the chief adviser of the student body Mr Samujjal Bhattacharya said, “We have decided to burn the copies of CAA rules in each district headquarters of Assam tomorrow. Assam will witness continuous non-violent agitations against CAA across the state.”
Mr Bhattacharya said, “CAA is an injustice towards the people of Assam and Northeast and at least 53 petitions from Assam and Tripura have been submitted before the Supreme Court against it since December 2019.”
Pointing out that Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur are exempted from the CAA, he argued that how it could be good for Assam. It is significant that the three Assam hill districts and the five districts covered by the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution are also exempted from purview of the CAA.
“Our question is how will CAA benefit Assam if it is not fit for Mizoram or Arunachal Pradesh? How is it beneficial for Nagaon and Kamrup if it is wrong for Kokrajhar and Karbi Anglong in Assam? The rest of Assam can’t be treated as dumping grounds for immigranrts”, said Mr Bhattacharya.
Meanwhile, the United Forum of Opposition also announced that they would launch agitation opposing the implementation of the CAA.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that since the CAA has become law, there is no longer any reason to hold protests against it.
“They ought to have voiced their objections in 2019 before Parliament approved it. I respect their view, but I believe they ought to challenge laws like the Illegal Migrants Determination by Tribunals (IMDT) Act in the Supreme Court.” The chief minister said.
The state government has alerted state administration and directed all the police stations to remain on high alert. Security sources said that security forces have been deployed on all the sensitive areas.
