Agitators intensify stir as PM Narendra Modi reaches north east

Coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to three Northeastern states, several organisations have intensified their stir against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. In a late night development, the police imposed Section 144 in Guwahati.

As Modi landed in Guwahati on Friday, BJP’s estranged ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) took out a torch rally, demanding scrapping of the Bill, and supporters of the All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) waved black flags as his convoy headed for the Raj Bhawan. Police had put up a barricade outside the Aasu office in Guwahati’s Uzan Bazar to thwart an unrest and BJP supporters lined up in the streets there to greet the prime minister. Aasu activists burnt copies of the Bill across the state. Both Aasu and peasants’ body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) have announced to carry out black-flag demonstrations and burn Modi’s effigy on Saturday when he will address a rally in Guwahati. Tai Ahom Yuva Parishad (TAYP) has called for a 12-hour Assam bandh on Saturday.

“The protests will continue, we will not accept imposition from New Delhi. Threatening or using force against us will not work,” Aasu advisor Dr Samujjal Bhattacharyya said. Modi is on his 40th visit to the Northeast since 2014.