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Assam: Sporadic protests, police warning, CM’s assurance after CAA gets notified
The final draft of NRC for Assam, released in August 2019, left out 1.9 million of the total 33 million applicants
Guwahati: The day after, the NDA government notified the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), was marked by sporadic protests against the legislation, warning by police to protesters and an assurance by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma about the impact of the CAA in Assam on Tuesday.
The state had witnessed violent protests against the legislation in December 2019, resulting in five deaths in police action. There’s fear among many indigenous groups that once CAA is implemented, it will lead to an influx of illegal immigrants to the state, especially from Bangladesh.
While protests in other parts of India against CAA in 2019 and later were about the exclusion of Muslims from its purview, in Assam opposition was against allowing non-Muslim illegal immigrants to become Indian citizens.
A conglomeration of 16 opposition parties in the state led by Congress, United Opposition Forum (UOF) and around 30 different groups including the influential All Assam Students Union (AASU) have announced the launch of a series of protests against the legislation, starting with burning of copies of CAA on Tuesday.
“This legislation is against the interest of Assam and its people. We appeal to all citizens to support us in our peaceful and democratic protests so that CAA is repealed,” Congress legislature party leader in state assembly, Debrabrata Saikia, said in Guwahati at an event to burn copies of the legislation at the party office.
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Students of a few colleges in Guwahati also burned copies of the legislation; similar protests were witnessed in Biswanath Chariali and Sivasagar where police detained a few protesters.
In Lakhimpur, members of Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), a student body, burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah.
The protests took place in the backdrop of notices issued on Monday by Assam Police to all 16 parties, which are part of UOF “ordering” them to “withdraw” the 12-hour-long ‘sarbatmak hartal’ (total strike) called on Tuesday to protest the legislation. The police notice had warned of “legal action” if the strike wasn’t called off.
“There is every likelihood of breach of peace and security leading to disruption of normal life of peace-loving citizens in the state. The “Sarbatmak Hartal” is likely to lead to road blockade, forceful closure of shops and other business establishments, damage to public and private property including Railway/NHAI thereby disrupting the delivery of essential services,” the notices read.
Trying to allay apprehension among public and claims by opposition parties and groups that lakhs of illegal immigrants, especially Bangladeshis residing in Assam, would get Indian citizenship after CAA was notified, CM Sarma said that only those left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) might apply for citizenship under provisions of the new legislation.
“Only few people will be applying for citizenship under CAA. Those are likely to be people left out of NRC. If a single person who entered India illegally after 2014 gets citizenship under CAA, I will be the first person to resign,” Sarma said on Tuesday at Sivasagar. He urged those opposing CAA to approach the Supreme Court for redressal instead of protesting on the streets.
The provisions of CAA are against the Assam Accord of 1985 that assured an end to entry of illegal immigrants to the state irrespective of their religious affiliations. Both the accord and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which was updated in 2019 under Supreme Court directives with the aim of weeding out illegal immigrants, had stipulated that any foreigner entering the state after March 24, 1971, would be treated as illegal immigrant.
The final draft of NRC for Assam, released in August 2019, left out 1.9 million of the total 33 million applicants. The Registrar General of India (RGI) is yet to notify the updated NRC and number of petitions opposing the draft or seeking its review are pending at present in Supreme Court.
“The process to legally oppose imposition of CAA in Assam has begun. AASU has filed a petition in Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking a stay on its implementation and appealed for an early hearing,” chief adviser to AASU, Samujjal Bhattacharya said.
