Amid the protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), ten prominent personalities of Assam have written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde appealing him to deliberate on the prevailing “public outrage and anger in the country”.
The signatories to the letter include Sahitya Akademi awardees Hiren Gohain, Homen Borgohain, Nagen Saikia, National Award-winning filmmaker Jahnu Barua, scientist Dinesh Chandra Goswami, former Gauhati University vice-chancellor Gajendra Nath Talukdar and ex-principals of Cotton College and Gauhati Medical College, Udayaditya Bharali and N N Barman respectively.
The letter stated, “In Assam, the threat of unchecked migration from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh had been compared by the Supreme Court to a silent invasion and the NRC for Assam was expeditiously prepared under the monitoring of the highest Court,” it said.
“At this juncture, granting citizenship to a large number of foreigners will put immense pressure on scant resources of the state and its native population,” it added.
It may be mentioned the Supreme Court is set to hear petitions challenging the constitutionality of the CAA on January 22nd, 2020. Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant in the bench headed by CJI Bobde will hear the pleas on CAA on January 22nd, 2020.
A total number of 75 petitions challenging the CAA has been filed in the apex court. The petitions under consideration include Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s plea challenging the constitutionality of the citizenship law.
The CAA grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31st, 2014.
Massive protests broke out in the country soon after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in both the houses of the parliament. Those protesting against the law in Assam say that the Act is a violation of Assam Accord, discriminatory and creates a divide on the basis of religion.
Photo credit: /jahnu.barua.7 and Twitter
