Heavy rainfall in this biting cold could not deter protesters from joining the Gana Hunkar (people’s roar) rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam on Friday.

More than 10,000 people joined the protest organised by the Tinsukia district unit of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the Muttock Yuva Chhatra Sammelan and 30 other organisations at Borguri ITI field in Tinsukia town. In the evening, a torchlight rally was taken out across the state. In Guwahati, it was headed by AASU chief convener Samujjal Bhattacharjya and president Dipanka Nath.

Addressing the rally, AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said, “Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal should be awarded the Oscar for best actor for the varied roles he has played. When he was in AASU, he played one role, when he was in the AGP, he played another, when he was fighting a legal battle against the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, he played yet another, and now, having joined the jati dhwanshi yajna (community-destructive ritual), his is playing completely different role.”

“This is the same Sarbananda Sonowal who had compared the Assam Accord with Gita and Kuran,” he said.

“The chief minister organised a news conference on the first day of the year and asked the people why had they left him alone. He should ask himself why he has been sidelined,” Lurinjyoti said.

He said if the chief minister continues to think of Bangladeshis and not of Assam and the Assamese, then he should leave Assam and go to Bangladesh. He accused Sonowal of being responsible for the death of five innocent students and called upon him not to misguide the people of Assam.

Muttock Yuva Chhatra Sammelan secretary Dharini Gohain compared Sonowal with Badan Borphukan (regarded as a traitor) and called him an enemy of Asomiya jati. He warned RSS leaders not to do politics in Assam in the name of religion.

Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad president Rana Pratap Barua said, “The people of Assam made Sonowal the chief minister because they had faith in him but by supporting CAA, he has insulted Assam Accord and its martyrs. The people of Assam will never forgive him.”

All Moran Students Union president Arunjyoti Moran said, “The governments at the Centre and in the state came to power with the promise of ousting foreigners but today they are determined to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants.”

The speakers vowed to continue CAA protest until the Act is withdrawn.

All business establishments in Tinsukia town remained closed. Singer Manas Robin, Tinsukia Advocates’ Association president Ranjit Borthakur, secretary Biswajit Prasad, All Tai Ahom Students’ Union joint secretary Milan Buragohain, AJYCP organising secretary Kan Gogoi and Muttock Sammelan executive president Saroj Gohain were among those present at the rally.

Tinsukia National Chamber of Commerce president Hiralal Sharma, Tinsukia Law College vice-president Sanjay Khetan, Assam Bhojpuri Sahitya Sabha general secretary Umesh Singh, the Assam Bhojpuri Sanjukta Mancha and members of the Bengali community were also present at the rally.