Koch Rajbongshi National Convention general secretary Biswajit Ray on Thursday said its members would destabilise the functioning of the state government if the bill was not scrapped at the earliest.

“The entire Koch Rajbongshi community will extend full cooperation to all the organisations of the state who are protesting against CAB. We will also join the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti in its fight against the bill. If necessary, we will block all train lines and national highways. Moreover, we will also lock all government offices, starting from the block level to the offices of the deputy commissioners if the bill is not scrapped,” he said here.

Alleging that both Dispur and Delhi had betrayed six communities of the state on the false promise to grant Scheduled Tribe status, he said, “The BJP-led NDA government’s intention was to silence our voices until CAB is passed. It (BJP) never had the political will to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the Koch-Rajbongshis, Tai Ahom, Sootea, Moran, Muttock and tea tribes of Assam.”

Stating that over the decades, a sizable number of illegal migrants have already populated the areas inhabited by Koch Rajbongshis in Assam, Ray said, “The Centre’s hurried move to pass the bill will entirely root out Koch Rajbongshis from their ancestral land. It will curtail the political, economic and socio-cultural rights exercised by Koch Rajbongshis since ages.”

Asserting the Koch Rajbongshis are always against CAB, Ray appealed to all the organisations of the state to intensify protests to teach a lesson to the ruling BJP both in Dispur and in Delhi.

Tinsukia protests: Activists of All Tai Ahom Students Union on Thursday hanged the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah at Thana Chariali in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

“We have heard the bill will be presented next week in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. We vow to protest until this bill is scrapped,” an Atasu activist said.

Hundreds of people also gathered on National Highway 37 at Jagun, Margherita, Makum, Dira and Rupai Siding in the district, holding anti-bill placards, and burned copies of the bill, throwing traffic out of gear for hours.

Assam Tea Tribes Students Association secretary Irot Tanti said, “We will never accept the bill at any cost. This bill is anti-Assamese. It must be scrapped.”

The protesters alleged that illegal migrants from Bangladesh are occupying the land here. “To get the support and vote of Hindu migrants, the government wants to make it easy for them to reside here by giving them citizenship,” an activist said.

The activists warned of further protests against the bill if it was not scrapped.

Activists of Brihattar Asomiya Yuba Mancha tonsured their heads at Demow to protest against the bill.

Additional reporting by Manoj Kumar Ojha in Doomdooma and Aurobinda Dey in Demow.