Senior citizens, artistes join anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest in Tangla

Senior citizens, artistes join anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest in Tangla

A Correspondent

TANGLA: Senior citizens, academicians, artistes and student leaders staged a sit-in organized by the Tangla chapter of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Tangla town in Udalguri district on Monday.

Holding placards, the protesters shouted slogans and raised slogans against the government and demanded scrapping of the law. A sexagenarian, Prafulla Baruah also recited a self-composed protest poem on the occasion. Noted Assamese short story writer Jayanta Kumar Chakravorty, while joining the protest, said, “Assam has already taken the burden of illegal immigrants by extending the cut-off year from 1951 to 1971 and the people will never accept a law which is detrimental to the Assam Accord.” He further said, “The unconstitutional and non-secular law is for establishment of Hinduvta agenda of RSS and BJP along with preserving their vote bank.”

He also lamented the fact that the student leader turned politicians had betrayed the people by standing in support of the law which was a threat to the culture and language of Assam. He also said, “The Assamese are easy going, peace loving and merry making people who have been pushed to unrest by the government.”

A senior citizen, Dipak Talukdar said, “We will try our best to protect the rights of the people and pass on a healthy society to the next generation by fighting against the law till our last breath.”

Binoy Kumar Medhi, a senior citizen who joined the protest, said, “We will never accept an Act that diminishes the native Assamese into a second-class citizen. The government should have respected the sentiments of the people. How can there be a law which is detrimental to secularism, one of the core principles of the Constitution?” He lamented that regionalism had been compromised in Assam. He said the AGP, which should have led the anti-CAA protest, was clinging to power and hence, acting at the behest of the BJP.

Debajit Mazumdar and Sharmistha Chakraborty from the Assam cine industry also participated in the protest. Tangla chapter AASU president Pranjal Deka said, “Assamese is already a State language but the Assam Government ,by reiterating the already prevalent act, is making mockery of the people.” He further said, “We have committed a grave sin by bringing the saffron party to power and as a part of salvation, people must oust the government in the forthcoming Assam Assembly polls of 2021.”

Assistant general secretary of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Jayanta Kumar Bhattacharya, while participating in the protest, said, “The BJP leaders of Assam are not the guardians of the Assamese people to forcefully impose an act which is detrimental to the cause of the indigenous people.”

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