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AASU promises massive protest if Narendra Modi comes to Assam for Khelo India
The third edition of Khelo India, a sport event covering 16 disciplines, will start on January 10 and continue for the next 13 days in the state capital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi could face “massive” protests if he comes to inaugurate Khelo India youth games in Guwahati on January 10, said a students’ union spearheading the anti-CAA protests in the state.
“If Prime Minister comes to Guwahati to inaugurate Khelo India (his first visit to the Assam after enactment of CAA) there will be large scale protests,” said All Assam Students Union chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya in Guwahati on Sunday.
AASU is Assam’s biggest student body which has been at the forefront of agitations against the CAA. AASU didn’t reveal any further details of its plans.
“What will be the nature of protest we will disclose in the coming days,” Bhattacharya added.
The third edition of Khelo India, a sport event covering 16 disciplines, will start on January 10 and continue for the next 13 days in the state capital.
AASU leadership said the organisation was also keeping a “close watch” on the T20 match between India and Sri Lanka scheduled for January 5 in Guwahati.
“There are two games happening in Guwahati in the coming days. The first one is the cricket match on January 5 and then ‘Khelo India’. We are keeping a close watch on both,” said AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath.
AASU has announced fresh Anti-CAA protests beginning December 31, including meetings, marches, demonstrations and rallies across the state. Nath said the battle against the amended act will be a long one.
“Modi and the BJP are planning to destroy Assam and we will not sit idle. The struggle against the CAA will be a long one. We are fighting a legal battle in the Supreme Court and we have full faith in it. Democratic protests will go on simultaneously,” Nath said.
The warning comes a day after Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal assured the games will be conducted successfully.
“We are not just focused on conducting the games successfully but also want to create sports culture in the state through the event. People of Guwahati will welcome the young athletes with open arms,” Sonowal told journalists on Saturday.
Modi was to visit Assam along with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on December 15 to take part in the Indo-Japanese bilateral meet. But the two-day programme was cancelled due to widespread anti-CAA protests, which claimed 5 lives in police firing.
