Mumbai: Normal life disrupted in Assam as the central government is all set to table Citizenship Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha, meanwhile state chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal urged protesters not spread “misinformation” over the proposed legislation.
The northeastern state is grinding tomorrow due to a day-long statewide strike called by around 20 organizations against the law.
Addressing a program in Tripura, Assam, the Chief Minister said that no one should allow “divisive forces” to destabilize the state.
PTI news agency quoted Sonowal saying, “In order to put Assam strongly on the world map, we all must work dedicatedly. Building a robust work culture in the state should be the prime objective of everyone and youths must not be misled to join agitations.”
The bill, which seeks to grant citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
After seven hours of discussion, the bill was passed by a majority of 311 votes against 80 in the lower house, where 391 members were present and voted.
Hours after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, protesters demonstrated on a large number of roads in Assam and burnt tires in some places.
Police said the agitators were involved in clashes with security forces near the secretariat and assembly buildings in Assam when they were stopped from moving forward. Protests disrupted train services across Assam as picketers blocked the tracks. They also raised slogans against Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in some areas and took out ‘funeral processions’ for their ‘failure’ to oppose the bill.
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