The All Assam Students’ Union blocked national highways in the state on Tuesday against police atrocities and alleged attacks by BJP workers on AASU members in Nalbari on Sunday.
On Sunday, AASU activists had raised black flags in Nalbari against the visit of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chandra Mohan Patowary. Following this, police had detained AASU activists.
The union alleged that BJP workers beat up its members at the police station.
On Tuesday, AASU activists shouted anti-government slogans, opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The AASU announced a series of agitation and hunger strikes from Thursday.
AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath said, “We will not tolerate the BJP workers’ attack on AASU members. It’s a conspiracy by the BJP-led government to derail the movement against the bill. But we will not stop. We condemn this act and warn the BJP against such attacks.”
The AASU’s city unit blocked the national highway at Basistha Chariali here.
Its Tinsukia unit staged a road blockade at Hijuguri.
“We want immediate arrest of the BJP’s Nalbari unit president and scrapping of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019,” AASU’s Tinsukia unit president Binay Dubey said.
Protim Neog, general secretary of AASU’s Doomdooma unit in Tinsukia said, “Don’t we have the right to protest against the bill which is not good for the indigenous population of Assam? Those who assaulted AASU activists must be prosecuted.”
BJP Assam president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said the BJP workers had gone to the police station to lodge a complaint against the protesters and he was not aware about his party workers assaulting AASU activists.
“We suspect Congress members could be involved. Only a thorough probe will reveal the truth,” he added.
He accused the Congress of conspiring to create a conflict between the BJP and AASU. He alleged that the AASU’s Nalbari protest was infiltrated by Congress workers who pelted stones at BJP members.
Massive protests against the alleged assault on AASU volunteers were also staged near the railway crossing at Makum, Tinsukia, by regional AASU units and Barekuri Anchalik Yuva Sangha.
Thousands of vehicles were stranded on National Highways 37, 51 and 52 for hours.
Traffic resumed with police help only around 3pm.
On January 31, when the Rajya Sabha session begins, AASU and 30 other organisations of Assam will take out torch rallies across the state. On February 4, they will stage statewide 10-hour hunger strikes from 6am till 4pm. Simultaneously, they will hold village-level meetings.
In a statement on Tuesday, the AASU, 30 other organisations and the North East Students’ Organisation (Neso) appealed to all opposition parties to oppose the bill in the Rajya Sabha.
“Several regional and national parties, including the Congress and the JDU, have promised to oppose the bill in the Rajya Sabha. We urge them to be present in the House and oppose the bill. We also urge all the allies of the NDA to oppose the bill,” the statement said.
Additional reporting by Manoj Kumar Ojha in Doomdooma