New Delhi: Protests continue unabated against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) across Assam, with more and more people joining in and new locations springing up. No untoward incident has been reported yet.Soon after chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal broke his silence at a press meet in Guwahati on December 20, expressing his support for the Centre’s actions and also stating that there has been “misinformation” about the Act among the Assamese people, he was reportedly seen taking part at a “peace rally” organised by his party at its stronghold, Nalbari town in lower Assam.Sonowal, accompanied by party state unit chief Ranjit Dass and finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, addressed the rally, which mostly comprised of party workers and supporters.What was noteworthy was that in his speech, the chief minister didn’t mention one word about the CAA even though it has pushed the state on to the brink of chaos. He only asked that people come out in support of lasting peace. Sonowal said a similar ‘peace rally’ would be organised on December 27 in Morigaon district.The All Assam Students Union (AASU), which has been spearheading the public protests, termed Sonowal’s comments at the press meet, where he defended the Act, as “sheer lies” and an “effort to create confusion among the public”. Sonowal had said that the Act would not lead to a fresh influx of Hindu Bangladeshis but give citizenship to those already residing in the state.Also read: Be Cautious on Social Media, Assam Police Tells People After Lifting of Internet BanThe Nalbari district unit of AASU also held a counter rally in the town which was attended by a large number of protesters. According to the Assam Tribune, in spite of police barricades all over the town, a huge crowd gathered at the local AASU office. Since they were not allowed to hold a procession by the security forces, they sat on the main road and organised a protest meet “to oppose the ‘black’ Act”.“Thousands of people from all walks of life irrespective of caste and creed took part in the rally and raised their voice against the CAA,” the report said. Nearly 35 organisations of the district including students from the local colleges joined AASU in the protest meet.All Assam Students Union (AASU) activists raise slogans against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Nalbari, December 20, 2019. Photo: PTIMeanwhile in Guwahati, All Assam Lawyers Association (AALA) took out a ‘Raj Bhawan Chalo” protest rally on December 20, shouting slogans against the Act and demanding it be set aside. A memorandum was later submitted to the state governor’s office addressed to the President.Dipak Kumar Das, general secretary of AAPLA, told local reporters that the district units of the Association also took out similar rallies in their areas. “The Act will not be accepted at any cost as it violates the constitution of India. It also violates the Assam Accord. We urge the government to understand the voice of the people against the Act,” he reportedly said.The lawyers association had played a prominent role during the anti-foreigner agitation in the 1980s and so did the state government employees association which has also joined the ongoing protests in the state and resorted to a dharna on December 18. The employees dharna had stalled worked at all government offices across the state.Asom Jaiyotabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), also a part of the agitation, condemned Sonowals’ comments made at the press meet. “At the press conference, the chief minister said the protesters were giving a wrong perspective of the CAA to mislead the people. When the people of the entire state including the academicians, legal experts, students and intellectuals are terming it as against the interests of the indigenous people, the chief minister and other BJP leaders are trying to demean their concerns through unfounded arguments,” AGYCP top leaderships Rana Pratap Barua and Palash Changmai told reporters soon after Sonowal’s press conference. They said his statements made it clear that he was in support of granting citizenship to undocumented migrants in the state.Also read: In Assam, the BJP Govt is Looking to Quell Protests in Inventive WaysUndeterred, AASU has backed an all-women protest being held across the state on December 21. Since morning, women writers, social activists, and leading personalities from different walks of life have begun congregating at different protest sites, including the Latasil grounds in Guwahati.“Women of Assam have been one of the main forces behind the success of the Assam movement. Their overwhelming participation in the anti-CAB protests is also exemplary. Let Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah have a glimpse of the women power of Assam on December 21,” AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharjee told local media in Guwahati.A protestor hangs Assamese traditional gamusas with various messages on them as part of a demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Dibrubagh, December 21, 2019. Photo: PTINews reports from Jorhat town in upper Assam where the protests have been vociferous, said that people gathered in front of the district commissioner’s office to register their protests on December 20. Artistes carried out a skit against the government’s move on the busy A.T. Road, where passers-by stopped to watch them enact it. Tea garden workers and members of Left parties also joined the protest.Meanwhile, the internet services have been restored in the state after the Gauhati high court’s intervention. The state police has put out a tweet asking “citizens to be cautious while posting or sharing unverified/provocative information on social media”.
