Guwahati, November 13: All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) chief adviser Dr Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya has reiterated the organisation’s opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), declaring that the students’ body would never accept the legislation. He has also demanded that the Act be withdrawn from the remaining 28 districts of Assam where it is currently applicable.
Bhattacharya said Assam had never sought the CAA but had demanded constitutional safeguards to protect the interests of its indigenous people. He alleged that the Centre had committed a grave injustice against Assam by imposing the legislation on the state.
Pointing to the exemptions provided under the Act, the AASU chief adviser said the CAA was not applicable in northeastern states such as Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, which have the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system.
He further pointed out that the Act did not apply to 98 per cent of Meghalaya, which falls under the Sixth Schedule, and would not be applicable to 70 per cent of Tripura.
In Assam, the CAA is not applicable in eight of the state's 35 districts, Bhattacharya said. Questioning the Centre's position, he asked how the legislation could be considered beneficial for Assam when similar provisions were treated as necessary to protect other northeastern states and Sixth Schedule areas.
He demanded the withdrawal of the CAA from the remaining 28 districts of Assam, reiterating that constitutional safeguards were the right of the people and not an act of charity.
According to Bhattacharya, such safeguards must protect Assam's language, culture, land and political rights. He maintained that protecting the identity and interests of the indigenous people of Assam should remain a priority.
