Various organizations in the northeast have threatened to restart their agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's three-day visit to Assam. Shah will tour the state on Monday and Tuesday.
The NE outfits' renewed warning of agitation came days after Shah announced at a public meeting in West Bengal that the the law would be implemented in the country once the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
The North East Students' Organisation (NESO) and the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) have claimed that they have taken legal recourse against CAA, and the mass movements against the Act, which was suspended due to examinations and the pandemic, would resume if the Centre did not pay heed to their demand. "The indigenous people of Northeast will never accept CAA. If CAA is implemented in the northeastern states, which do not have Inner Line Permit facility, the indigenous people will always have to put up with influx of illegal Bangladeshis," NESO leaders said in a statement.
The All Assam Students’ Union, the Raijor Dal, a political party headed by Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi, the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad in Assam, and the the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) in Meghalaya have also warned that any attempt to implement the CAA would provoke unrest in the region.
All the eight northeastern states and West Bengal had witnessed violent protests in 2019 and early 2020 against the CAA which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslims minorities who have migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, after facing religious persecution.
Addressing a rally in West Bengal Siliguri on Thursday, Shah gave assurance that the CAA would come into effect once the Covid-19 pandemic ended, stating that the law "was, is, and will be a reality".
The Union minister will arrive in Guwahati on Sunday night and leave for Mankachar in South Salmara district on May 9 to review the situation along the Indo-Bangladesh border, the officials said. On the same day, he will lay the foundation and do the bhoomi pujan' (groundbreaking ceremony) for CENWOSTO-II (Central Workshop and Stores) for Central Armed Paramilitary Force (CAPF) at Kelenchi in Tamulpur district.
After returning to the state capital, Shah will inaugurate the Census office and the Superspeciality Cardiothoracic and Neurosciences Centre at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
On May 10, the Union Home minister will present the 'President's Colour' to Assam Police at the Nehru Stadium and inaugurate Integrated Directorate of government departments, Kamrup Metro Deputy Commissioner's Office, Guwahati Police Commissionerate, and the Police Reserve at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra. Shah is also scheduled to address a rally to mark the completion of one year of the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led NDA government in the state at the Khanapara Veterinary field on Tuesday.
—With PTI inputs
