Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will prevent Assam from becoming ‘Kashmir’: Himanta Biswa Sarma

A Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 will prevent Assam from becoming another Kashmir.

“This Bill will protect the Hindus. And it is necessary to safeguard the identity of the indigenous people of Assam and the Northeast as a whole. If we can’t do this, the likes of Badruddin Ajmal will become the Chief Minister of Assam by 2021,” Sarma said while speaking at a seminar in New Delhi on Friday.

Sarma said that Opposition parties and some sections of people are talking of this issue for political propaganda. He criticized the Congress for neglecting the Northeast.

“The party was in power for 65 years. What did they do for the Northeast in general and Assam in particular during that period?”Sarma questioned.

He said that the present government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying hard to implement the Assam Accord and granting ST status to the six ethnic groups of Assam. “Our government is working for the betterment of Assam and the Northeast,” the minister said. He said that the BJP is forming a formidable front in the Northeast.

“The North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) is a rainbow platform. It’ll highlight the Northeast as a block representing NDA partners,” Sarma, who is also NEDA convener, said.

He said that the State government is trying to make Guwahati a market for entire Southeast Asia. “As and when the Act East Policy is implemented there will be a sea of change in the Northeast,” Sarma said.

Also read: AGP has no right to oppose Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: Himanta Biswa Sarma