The satyagraha of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) entered the second day on Tuesday as thousands across the state protested against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
In Guwahati, hundreds of people gathered at Latasil playground and took out a rally in which Assamese actor Barsha Rani Bishaya and several other artistes took the lead role. They were detained by city police and released later.
Senior citizens, women’s groups, teachers, medical practitioners and people from various walks of life also took part in the satyagraha here.
Bishaya said: “The government is pushing the entire Assamese community to a devastating future and we are not going to accept the CAA in any way.”
The second day of the protest also saw participation of at least 30 indigenous people’s organisations from the state. However, AASU leaders alleged that the police and the administration had restricted many people from reaching the city to participate in the satyagraha.
AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath alleged: “The state government has restricted hundreds of protesters in the city, Golaghat, Sonitpur and several other locations. Many were even warned to stay away from the protests. But no matter how much the government tries to restrict us, the movement against the CAA will continue.”
AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharjya added that the movement was no longer concentrated in urban areas like the city but was also reaching far-flung areas of the state. “The satyagraha will continue till Wednesday and we appeal to all to come out and join the movement,” he said.
A group of doctors, under the banner of the Assam Medical Association (AMA), joined the anti-CAA protest, marching to Latasil to participate in the AASU-organised satyagraha. The doctors, donning white coats, marched towards Latasil carrying placards and shouting slogans.
AMA president Satyajit Bora said: “We have come to join the protest at this dire hour. We call upon the people to join the protest against the unconstitutional CAA which is being imposed on Assam despite resistance of the Assamese people. We will not tolerate this. The protest will be long, but we have to keep it peaceful.”
Hundreds of others joined the satyagraha in Dhemaji, Nagaon and Jorhat.
In Jorhat, people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh joined the protest by taking out a rally under the banner of the Jorhat Hindustani Samaj and participating in the dharnas staged by AASU and the Asom Jaitiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP).
The AJYCP’s 36-hour fast protest ended on Tuesday. The fasts held across the state witnessed massive public support.
Though there was no incident of violence in the state, the police arrested at least 27 people in Dibrugarh district for involving in antisocial activities.
The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through governor Jagdish Mukhi, asking the Centre to keep the entire state out of the purview of the CAA. An AGP delegation, led by the state’s agriculture minister and AGP president Atul Bora, met Mukhi and demanded that the Centre take the state’s major organisations like AASU, AJYCP and Asam Sahitya Sabha into confidence before implementing the act. The AGP also demanded the constitutional safeguards for the indigenous people of the state.
Due to agitations at various stations in West Bengal and damage to railway properties, over 40 passenger trains under the Northeast Frontier Railway were cancelled. NFR sources said normal services to Eastern Railway would resume depending on the law and order situation in West Bengal.
