NE students' organizations begin 11-hour strike against Citizenship Amendment Bill
An 11-hour North East bandh, called by a number of students' organizations and political parties to protest the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, began amid tight security today at 5 am. In Assam, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) has called for a state-wide bandh after a gap of 10 years, and it is being supported by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). Details here.
AGP no longer supporting the BJP-led government in Assam
AGP withdrew support to the BJP-led government in Assam yesterday. Others who are supporting the 'bandh' are the opposition Congress, the AIUDF, and the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS). Tyres were burned on roads at various places in Assam to prevent the movement of vehicles.
Railway and flight schedules remained unaffected, shops were closed
Vehicles were damaged in Guwahati, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts, police said. Railway tracks were blocked briefly in Guwahati and Dibrugarh districts but the movement of trains, including that of the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express, resumed after the GRP removed protesters from the tracks, railway sources said. Train and flight schedules remained unaffected. Shops, markets and financial institutions kept their shutters down.
Government offices attendance was thin because of inadequate transport
Educational institutions, private offices remained closed and private vehicles, including long-distance buses were kept off roads in the Brahmaputra valley, official sources said. Attendance in government offices was thin as the employees had difficulty in reaching their workplace in the absence of adequate public transport, the sources said. A skeleton service of the government-run Assam State Transport Corporation buses was pressed into service.
Thirty ethnic organizations are supporting the bandh in Assam
Several students' bodies of the region have decided to observe the 'bandh' in support of the call given by the North East Students' Organization (NESO), an umbrella organization of students' unions, of which the AASU is a constituent. Thirty ethnic organizations are also supporting the bandh in Assam. The bandh evoked a response in the Bengali-majority Barak valley as well.
The bill will grant Indian-citizenship under certain parameters
PM Narendra Modi on January 4, had announced in Barak valley that the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 will be passed as soon as possible in the Parliament as a penance for past injustices. The bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act 1955 to grant Indian citizenship to people from minority communities like, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Protesters say Citizenship bill will nullify 1985 Assam Accord
The bill will grant citizenship after six years of residence in India instead of 12, even if they don't possess any proper document for it. The AGP and other groups in Assam have said the provisions of the bill will nullify the 1985 Assam Accord, which provides for deportation of all illegal migrants, irrespective of religion, who had entered the state after March 1971.
Security arrangements, patrolling by police and paramilitary forces intensified
Security arrangements were intensified and patrolling by police and paramilitary forces intensified across the state in view of the bandh called by the AASU after ten years. Assam Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia said, "District SPs have been instructed to ensure public peace. Appropriate forces have been deployed across the state to prevent any untoward incident. Patrolling has been intensified at all places."
Here are other organizations who are supporting the bandh
Meanwhile, member organizations of NESO such as Mizo Zirlai Pawal (MZP), All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU), Khasi Students Union (KSU), Garo Students Union (GSU), Naga Students' Federation (NSF), All Manipur Students Union (AMSU) and Twipra Students Federation (TSF) are also supporting the bandh.
