‘CM cannot turn his back on responsibility of safeguarding Assam’

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR, May 14: Massive protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 continue in Lakhimpur. Several organizations and political parties protested on Monday, expressing their resentment against the Union and State governments’ move to grant Indian citizenship to Hindu foreigners. The activists of the Lakhimpur district unit of Brihattar Asomiya Yuva Mancha (BAYM) took out the smashan yatra of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal covering North Lakhimpur town. Later, the protesters burnt the symbolic body of the Chief Minister at Malpani Chariali of the town. The organization is not satisfied with the statement which Sarbananda Sonowal made regarding the bill on Saturday.

“A person who is entitled as a jatiya nayak cannot make such a statement regarding the controversial bill by turning his back on his responsibility of safeguarding his State and its native people when he is on the chair of Chief Minister. So we suppose him to be dead,” said Anupam Saikia, the working president of the organization, while demanding scrapping of the bill.

On the other hand, the Lakhimpur District Congress Committee (LDCC) organized a public meeting at Rajiv Bhavan of the district protesting against the proposed bill. Participating in the programme, former Congress minister Mahibul Haque slammed the BJP government for advocating granting Indian citizenship to Hindu foreigners and discriminating them on the basis of religion. Lakhimpur District Congress Committee president Dr Joy Prakash Das, who chaired the event, challenged Sarbananda Sonowal to show his bravery by standing against the bill. The party initiated a mass signing drive against the bill in addition to taking out a protest rally in North Lakhimpur town. At the end of the rally, the party submitted a memorandum to the Joint Parliamentary Committee strongly opposing the bill.

The Lakhimpur district body of All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AKRSU) also submitted a memorandum to the JPC chairman regarding the issue through the Lakhimpur DC on Monday. Central general secretary Rup Jyoti Dutta, district president-in-charge Bikash Dutta and secretary Nitul Saikia demanded the BJP government to scrap the bill for the greater interest of Assam.