Anti-CAA agitators in Assam observe 'black day' to mark second anniversary of passage of bill in Parliament

Assam Jatiya Parishad, as part of its 10-day 'Jatiya Sankalpa Abhijan' demanding repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act, took out a protest march from its headquarters in Guwahati to the state secretariat in Dispur, raising popular slogan of the agitation 'CAA aami na manu' (We don't accept CAA).

Pic Courtesy: ANI

Guwahati: Anti-CAA agitators in Assam on Saturday observed 'black day' to mark the second anniversary of the passage of the bill in Parliament.

The North East Students' Organisation had given a call to mark the day as 'black day' in the seven states of the region, and accordingly, people protested with black flags and banners denouncing the "unjustly imposed" Citizenship Amendment Act, NESO advisor Sammujjal Bhattacharya said.

All Assam Students' Union, a constituent of NESO, also held protests in all districts of the state demanding that the law be repealed, he said.

Assam Jatiya Parishad, as part of its 10-day 'Jatiya Sankalpa Abhijan' demanding repeal of the Act, took out a protest march from its headquarters in Guwahati to the state secretariat in Dispur, raising popular slogan of the agitation 'CAA aami na manu' (We don't accept CAA).

"The government may have passed the bill as it had the numbers but we won't allow it to be implemented, and our protests will continue till the Act is repealed," AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi, who was at the forefront of the stir in 2019, said.

"The BJP claims that the people of Assam support CAA, citing the party's victory in this year's assembly elections, but the fact is that they won by playing divisive politics and making false promises," he said.

Bhattacharya, who is also the AASU advisor, said that December 11 will remain a 'black day' for Assam, and people of the state will never accept CAA.

"The BJP tried to play divisive politics by exempting states with Inner Line Permit (ILP) and areas under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution from the ambit of the Act, but people of all the seven states took a firm stand and protests were held across the region during the day," Bhattacharya said.

"There were widespread protests against CAA after it was passed in the Parliament, but those had to be stalled as we had made it clear that the academic year of the students shall not be affected, and then COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown took place. However, the anger against this unjust law is still burning in the hearts of the Assamese people, and our stir will continue till the Act is repealed," he said.

CAA seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis entering India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after five years of residence here.

Assam witnessed violent protests in 2019 during and after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament.

Pitched battles took place between protestors and police, and at least five people were killed during the agitation.

The government cracked down on the stir, arresting the leaders, snapping internet connectivity and imposing curfews. The agitation led to the formation of two parties AJP and Raijor Dal. However, both failed to make a mark in this year's assembly elections, barring Akhil Gogoi who won the Sibsagar seat.