Protests reverberated across Assam on Thursday as opposition parties, student bodies, and social groups vehemently opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), burning copies of its rules, hoisting black flags, and organising demonstrations.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state, denouncing the implementation of the law, symbolically burnt copies of the CAA rules in all districts, vowing to resist its enforcement.
State TMC president Ripun Bora declared that the Assamese community's integrity and dignity were under assault, attributing the BJP's motives behind the CAA to mere electoral politics.
In Guwahati, a collective of anti-CAA activists orchestrated a protest march, where Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan accused the BJP-led government of orchestrating the legislation to sow division within society.
Meanwhile, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) displayed black flags in several towns across the state, including Guwahati, Chandrapur, and Golaghat, reiterating their steadfast opposition to the CAA. AASU's chief adviser, Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharjya, affirmed their commitment to non-violent and democratic protests until the act is revoked.
The ongoing protests, fueled by opposition parties like the Congress and Raijor Dal, alongside various other organisations, have persisted for the past four days. Students from colleges and universities also joined the chorus, staging demonstrations outside their campuses.
Their primary contention lies in the violation of the 1985 Assam Accord, which stipulates the detection and deportation of foreigners who entered Assam after March 25, 1971.
The CAA, enacted in 2019, aims to grant Indian citizenship to individuals from specific religious communities, including Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis, who migrated to India on or before December 31, 2014, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
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