People will oust saffron party in next Assembly polls: All Assam Students’ Union

A CORRESPONDENT

TANGLA: “The BJP government in Assam must get ready to face the wrath of the people in the forthcoming Assembly polls scheduled to be held in 2021. Everyone is united against the saffron party to oust it from power in the cause of the indigenous sons of the soil,” said All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) president Dipanka Kumar Nath at a massive rally attended by thousands of people at the Tangla Higher Secondary School playground here on Thursday in response to the call given by the All Assam Students’ Union and 30 other organizations against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)-2019.

Over 10,000 people, draped in their ethnic outfits and donning the gamosa as the common headgear, gathered at the playground here (in Udalguri district) and raised slogans against the Act and the government for imposing the Citizenship Act on Assam.

Nath further said, “It’s nothing but hypocrisy at its worst form that the Sixth Scheduled areas and the north-eastern States having the Inner Line Permit (ILP) have been exempted from the purview of this Act while not advocating the principle in the valleys of the Brahmaputra and the Barak. As a result, the Act will be detrimental for the people of these two valleys.” He further pointed out that the worst part of this Act is that foreigners eligible for citizenship will not have to show any documents as valid proofs of entering the State prior to December 2014. It implies that any foreigner, irrespective of his/her date of entry, would be granted citizenship.

“If any person having ‘Ali’ as his surname changes it to ‘Saha’ or ‘Basak’, he will get citizenship which will have a catastrophic impact on the demography of Assam.” While appealing to the people “not to be swayed by the peace rallies organized by the BJP in support of CAA”, Nath exhorted the students’ community to pursue their education even while continuing their protests against the Citizenship Act.

“Our anti-CAA movement will continue and no coercive measures unleashed by the Government on protesters in any form and manner would be tolerated,” the AASU leader stressed.

Popular artistes Zubeen Garg, Manas Robin, and Pabitra Rabha among others rendered revolutionary numbers in Assamese and appealed to the masses “to stand united against the radical forces making all-out efforts to impose the Act”.

Zubeen Garg, while making mockery of the government’s decision to provide a one-time grant of Rs 50,000 each to artistes and technicians, added, “At the individual level, I extend help to the needy persons, amounting to more than the proposed figure every day at my Kharghuli residence in Guwahati.” He further remarked that the politics of enticement by the government would not deter the people as baits are meant for fishes and not human beings.

Referring to the issue of granting citizenship to foreigners he remarked, “Export and import are meant for goods and animals; not mankind.”

Popular singer Bipin Chawdang said, “The artiste fraternity has joined hands with the Assamese society to fight against the Citizenship Act. We will continue our agitation until and unless the Government withdraws the Act from Assam.” He further stated, “Burning tyres can be doused by pressing the fire tenders to service but the inferno set ablaze in the mind of each Assamese will continue to burn till the Government withdraws the Act from Assam.”

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