Anti-CAA protests continue in Assam

Protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 or CAA continued across Assam on Thursday with Opposition parties, student bodies, and social groups burning copies of the rules, hoisting black flags, and holding demonstrations.

The state unit of the TMC (Trinamool Congress) burned copies of CAA rules in all districts and vowed not to allow implementation of the law. "No Assamese will remain silent when his community's very existence and self-respect are attacked. The BJP has rolled out the CAA only for vote bank politics. If CAA is not repealed, we will launch a more intense agitation in the coming days," state TMC president Ripun Bora said.

A forum for anti-CAA activists also held a protest march in state capital Guwahati. Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan joined it and said the BJP-led government has implemented the legislation only to polarise society.

The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) hoisted black flags in Guwahati, Chandrapur, Barpeta, Raha, Golaghat, Morigaon, Sipajhar, Sonari, Gossaigaon, Bijni, Kokrajhar and Lakhimpur, among other places, against the CAA.

AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharjya said non-violent and democratic protests will continue until the act is repealed.

Anti-CAA protests by Opposition parties such as the Congress and Raijor Dal and various other organisations have been held in the state for the last four days. Students of various colleges and universities also staged demonstrations outside their campuses.

They have been opposing the CAA, claiming that it violates the provisions of the 1985 Assam Accord, according to which the names of all foreigners who came to Assam on or after 25 March 1971 would be detected and deleted from electoral rolls, and steps taken to deport them.

The CAA seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who have entered India on or before 31 December 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.