Assam continued to be on the boil after the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or CAB was passed by the Union Cabinet on December 4th, 2019. Various student bodies took the streets once again to oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government’s move.
In wake of anti-Bill protests, the student wing of BJP, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took out a rally in support of the Bill in Guwahati on December 7th, 2019. The protesters were heard chanting slogans like ‘Joi Aai Axom’, ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, Vande Mataram’, ‘Long live ABVP’, ‘We support CAB’ and so on.
The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to the people belonging to the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis who have become the victims of religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and entered India.
Protesting bodies like All Assam Students’ Union, Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chattra Parishad, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and others said that this Bill is totally against the ideals of the Constitution of India and violates the Assam Accord.
However, when this correspondent asked the ABVP volunteers about the Bill, they fumbled and failed to answer. Few of the protestors didn’t even know the full form of CAB or why they are protesting.
“The Bill will help our people who are in Bangladesh,” said an ABVP supporter. Another added, “To give citizenship to Bangladeshi people, we need CAB in Assam.”
“CAB will protect, bring peace to Assam. CAB will rescue the one whose names are missing in NRC,” said a Bill supporter.
Watch the video here:
Photo: @dhrubaborah
