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Encouraged by farm laws repeal, Assam groups plan to resume anti-CAA stir
Organisations that led the anti-CAA stir in Assam in 2019 are again raking up the demand to repeal the CAA
The Centre’s decision to repeal the three contentious farm laws following a year-long agitation by farmer groups have led groups opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to revive their stir seeking its withdrawal.
Organisations that led the anti-CAA stir in Assam in 2019, such as the All Assam Students Union and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (which later formed a political party called Raijor Dal), are again raking up the demand to repeal the CAA.
“The Centre was forced to repeal the anti-farmer farm laws bowing down to the demand of the agitation by farming communities. This proved the government’s injustice and misjudgement. Now it’s time to repeal CAA, which is against the interest of indigenous people of Assam and northeast, soon,” tweeted AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya after the Centre’s move on Saturday.
On Sunday, former KMSS leader and present president of Raijor Dal, Akhil Gogoi also reiterated that there is a need to revive the anti-CAA stir in Assam following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to repeal the three farm laws.
“The anti-CAA stir should resume. The legislation is yet to be implemented by the Centre, but we need to remember if it does, it would pave the way for 19 million Hindus from Bangladesh to enter Assam,” Gogoi said after a meeting with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday.
“While I was behind bars, some Assamese groups leading the anti-CAA stir weakened it by taking it in a wrong direction. Now that our farmers have been able to repeal the three farm laws after their agitation, it is time for all Assamese to unite and start the anti-CAA movement so that this anti-Assamese legislation is withdrawn,” he added.
Gogoi, one of the prominent leaders of the anti-CAA stir in 2019, was lodged in jail for one-and-half years for his role in the agitation and two cases were lodged by National Investigation Agency against him. He became an MLA from the Sibsagar seat while he was in jail. In July this year, he was acquitted in both cases and got released from jail.
The ruling BJP in Assam, which came back to power again this year, has always been very clear about its support of the legislation. It has been maintaining that the anti-CAA stir lost relevance after the Covid-19 pandemic and the party’s win in assembly polls in May this year proved that the masses were unperturbed by it.
“It has now become clear to all people in Assam that the agitation against CAA was a drama. Many of those who were part of that agitation later joined BJP. People of the state are more concerned about development and not about old issues like CAA,” said former BJP MLA and president of the party’s women unit in Assam, Angoorlata Deka, on Sunday.
Assam had witnessed violent protests in December 2019 against the controversial legislation that seeks to grant citizenship to religious minorities from Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
Five people died due to police firing in the protests and opposition to the legislation led to the birth of two regional parties, Assam Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal. While AJP failed to open its account in the assembly poll, Raijor Dal bagged just one seat.
While protests in other parts of India against CAA were about the exclusion of Muslims from its purview, in Assam, the opposition was against allowing non-Muslim illegal immigrants to become citizens.
The provision of CAA was against the Assam Accord of 1985 that assured an end to the entry of illegal immigrants irrespective of their religious affiliations. Several groups and indigenous associations felt if CAA is implemented, it could lead to an influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and threaten the language, culture and land holdings of local populations.
Following the deaths and violence, AASU decided to tone down the protests and finally discontinue it due to Class 10 and Class 12 board exams last year.
