GUWAHATI: The protestors of Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in Assam criticised a citizens’ group of eminent people that appealed for calm saying there was no point continuing with the protests as the matter was sub-judice and the Supreme Court would pass an order on January 22.
In a “public notice” in newspapers, the group, comprising former Meghalaya Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary besides some academicians and cultural personalities, said the announcement by the protestors that they would continue with the protests was shrouded in a “mystery”.
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), which has been vitriolic in its attack of the BJP on the CAA, was quick to give a response. It asserted that the appeal made by the group would not be able to stop the movement.
“They said the decision of the protestors to continue with the protests was shrouded in a mystery. We would say their appeal itself is shrouded in a mystery,” advisor to AASU Samujjal Bhattacharya told journalists.
“Why don’t they go and meet Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and convince them to repeal the CAA? If they can do that, the protests will automatically end,” Bhattacharya added.
The protests against the amended Citizenship Act continued across the state. Tens of thousands of people took part at a rally in Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh on Tuesday.
At another protest rally in Tezpur of northern Assam, the leaders of the AASU reiterated that the protests would continue.
“We are fighting the issue legally as well as democratically by staging peaceful protests. Our protests will continue,” AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath said at the rally.
Meanwhile, Assam’s Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government would urge the Supreme Court for 20 per cent re-verification of applicants who had made it to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) from districts bordering Bangladesh.
“If there is a national NRC, we have to join it. If there is none, then the Assam NRC has to be full proof. We don’t accept the NRC that was updated. If the Supreme Court says it is satisfied with the NRC, we cannot do anything. But if it says Assam can carry out 20 per cent re-verification in the border districts, then we will do this. If we detect largescale anomalies in the process, our next prayer will be for complete (statewide) re-verification,” Sarma told journalists.