Thousands of people, including students, thronged the Senairam Boarding Field in Tinsukia town to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on Saturday, cocking a snook at chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s advice to focus on studies and assurance to launch of schemes for students.

The protest rally, Saraighatar antim judh (the last battle of Saraighat), was called by AASU’s Tinsukia district unit and supported by college unions across the district.

Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad’s (AJYCP) central committee organisational secretary Kan Gogoi said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi coined a slogan ‘sabka sath sabka vikash’, lekin ye kya ho gaya, sabka sarvnash ho gaya. Awake, the CAA will destroy our language, literature and culture.”

The central executive member of AASU, Udipt Jyoti Gogoi, criticised both the Centre and the state government.

“The government is not listening to people’s voices and it has no concern for Assamese pride. A lesson must be taught to such a government in the 2021 Assembly elections.”

The speakers hinted at the formation of an alternative government in the next Assembly elections and urged people to continue the agitation against the CAA till then.

Besides the students of Tinsukia College, Tinsukia Commerce College, Women’s College who came in uniform, those of other colleges, housewives, children, seniors citizens, teachers, intellectuals and state-level students’ leaders were present in the protest rally.

The secretary of the Muttock Yuva Chhatra Sammelan, Dharani Gohain, said: “There is no need of such representatives who support the CAA.”

There were nearly 20,000 people who had started assembling in the field since early morning. As the field was chock-a-block, the people stood on roads to hear the leaders’ speeches. The police had a hard time because of traffic snarls in different parts of the district town. Tinsukia police station’s officer-in-charge Dipak Tamuli was seen with a police contingent. The army was also deployed in the area.

“We will keep opposing the Act,” president of the state unit of the All Moran Students’ Union, Arun Jyoti Moran, said.

In the rally, Udipt Jyoti Gogoi, the central secretary of the AJYCP, Udyan Kumar Gogoi, Arun Jyoti Moran, Muttock Yuva Chhatra Sammelan’s central secretary Dharani Gohain and many other leaders were present.

The rally ended with the singing of “O Mor Apunar Desh”.