Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 must be scrapped off

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: “The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 must be scrapped off. Assam is not a dumping ground for the foreigners to rehabilitate them as Indian citizens. Any step on the part of the Union and State government towards turning the said Bill into an Act will no longer be tolerated.”

Echoing this strict warning to both the governments in Delhi and Dispur, the 12-hour-long Assam bandh called by as many as 46 organizations of the State was carried out in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts with comprehensive impact on Tuesday. The bandh paralyzed normal life and administrative machinery in both the districts.

The activists of the organizations supporting the bandh, including AJYCP, KMSS, AKRSU, TAYPA and ACYA, came out on the street in order to make the bandh successful, shouting anti-government slogans. The picketers blocked the NH-15 burning tyres in North Lakhimpur town, Laluk, Bhogpur Chariali and Gogamukh Dhakuakhona Road at Ghilamora in Lakhimpur district. Similarly, the district administrations and police department took the necessary steps to make the bandh unsuccessful in both the districts.

Police arrested KMSS central adviser Azad Hazarika while attempting to block the railway tracks at North Lakhimpur station while two other activists of BAYM, one of AJYCP and one of TAYPA were arrested in the district headquarter.

A total of 20 picketers were arrested from different parts of Lakhimpur district, including two ATASU and two KMSS leaders in Dhakuakhona subdivision. On the other hand, 100 picketers were arrested in Dhemaji district. Lakhimpur SP Sudhakar Singh and Dhemaji SP Nilesh T. Savarkare told The Sentinel that no untoward incident was reported in the districts during the bandh. The law-and-order situation as a whole was peaceful in both the districts.