AASU, AJYCP, artistes and senior citizens participate in demonstration at Guwahati

Anti-CAA rally demands white paper on investments in State

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The AJYCP (Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad) on Monday organized a massive sit-in demonstration at Dispur Last Gate demanding that the daylong special session of the Assam Legislative Assembly on Monday take definite steps against the Citizenship Amendment Act-2019. Hundreds of people participated in this rally supported by also the AASU (All Assam Students' Union), artistes and senior citizens. The rally also demanded the introduction of ILP (Inner Line Permit) in the State and a time-bound implementation of all clauses of the Assam Accord.

Demanding "a white paper on the amount of money that was invested in Assam prior to the anti-CAA movement", AASU chief adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya came down heavily on the State government over its statement that the State exchequer had suffered a huge loss during that period. Bhattacharya targeted State Commerce & Industries Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on this issue. The AASU leader said, "If the Minister is making this fantastically erroneous claim, then we challenge the government to make public the investments that were made in the State before the movement."

Reiterating that "We will neither accept the CAA nor the government's attempt to settle the additional Hindu Bangladeshis who came to the country between 1971 to 2014, Bhattacharya added, "Constitutional safeguards to the indigenous people of the State is our Fundamental Right. Such safeguards will protect us from those foreigners who had got Indian citizenship as per the Assam Accord cut-off date (midnight of March 24, 1971). But the government is offering the Constitutional safeguards only by imposing on us the additional burden of the Hindu foreigners. We will not accept this!"

Addressing the gathering, AJYCP president Rana Pratap Barua said, "Assam will be the worst affected in the post-CAA stage. It is really unfortunate that the present State government has accepted the new Citizenship Act only to please the Union government."

AJYCP general secretary Palash Changmai told the gathering, "The present government will never be able to provide security to the indigenous people of Assam. So, the Assamese people must alienate these leaders from the Assamese society."

AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi told the gathering, "Our agitation against the new Citizenship Act will continue. This is our main issue. However, we must also have solutions to all the burning issues affecting the Assamese society. These include the exclusive right of the indigenous people primarily over the State's economy, natural resources, land, language, and culture."

The AASU leader further said, "Right from the stage when they took over the reins of power, the present governments have been mentally harassing the masses. The common people are now looking for an alternative where the people of Assam will feel secure on all fronts."

Among others who were present during the rally were social activists Ajit Bhuyan, Adip Kumar Phukan, Nekibur Zaman, Bimal Chowdhury, and artiste Barsha Rani Bishaya.

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