An anti-CAA rally held in Guwahati on Saturday decided to take the fight to villages by holding meetings and protests and to get the contentious law scrapped.

The protest meeting organised by the Coordination Committee Against Citizenship Amendment Act (CCACAA) here saw several speakers suggesting the fight against the central citizenship law “deep”, instead of keeping it urban-centric, to mobilise all-round support and sustain the pressure.

CCACAA chief coordinator Deben Tamuly once again cited the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws as a “good example” of how a “united, peaceful, broad-based and sustained protest” forced the Centre to roll back the three farm legislations in 2021. “We intend to do something like this on the anti-CAA front in the days to come by taking it deep to maintain pressure. We will make it a poll issue,” Tamuly said.

The CCACAA is headed by social scientist Hiren Gohain.

The example of the farmers’ protest was flagged because there was a feeling among certain quarters in Assam that protests would not work because the law had been passed and notified.

“But the overwhelming view today was that we need to launch a sustained broad-based movement against the CAA to be successful. If farm laws can be rolled back, why can’t the CAA?” Tamuly asked, adding they would soon chalk out how to take the CAA fight deep.

“There could be meetings in villages, rural belt, distribution of leaflets among others. We will soon chalk out our programmes because there is unanimity among those opposed to the CAA.” he said.