Protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill in Lakhimpur

LAKHIMPUR, May 7: At a time when the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was holding public hearing on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 on Monday at the Administrative Staff College at Khanapara in Guwahati to elicit opinion from various organizations and citizens of the Brahmaputra Valley, the people of Lakhimpur staged a two-hour long sit-in in front of the Lakhimpur DC office opposing the controversial bill.

The protest was organized under the aegis of Lakhimpur district unit of Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS). The protesters strongly opposed the Union government’s move to grant citizenship to the Hindu migrants from Bangladesh and two other countries. They demanded the Union government not to change the ideology of secularism in the Indian Constitution by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955. They opined that this move of the Centre would cause bloodbath in the State. Moreover, the passing of the bill would turn the updated National Register of Citizens meaningless and ridicule the supreme sacrifice made by 855 martyrs in the historic Assam Movement.

“We call upon the JPC not to adopt the bill for Assam for the existence of the indigenous communities of the State who have been living in this land in communal harmony since time immemorial. We have submitted a memorandum to the JPC opposing the bill,” said Chinu Saikia and Raju Singha, the chairperson and secretary of Lakhimpur MASS.