BJP plans mega Modi event in Guwahati amid citizenship row

GUWAHATI: With the northeastern states protesting for a month since the Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the ruling BJP in Assam is preparing to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public function in Guwahati on February 9 a grand event.

The party expects about 300,000 people to attend the meeting, which it claims will be the largest for a public function at any venue in Assam. “Preparations for the PM’s visit are in full swing and we will see a huge turnout of people at Changsari, where the PM will address a public meeting after the bhoomipujan of AIIMS centre there,” finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

“Over 3 lakh people are expected in the rally, which will be the largest ever rally in Assam. This is a thanksgiving rally for the prime minister who has recently given Assam projects worth .`37,000 crore,” said BJP MLA Ashok Singhal.


Assam has plunged into a series of protests, including highway blockades, amid opposition to the bill, which would allow non-Muslim migrants who arrived in the country on or before December 31, 2014, to stay on as Indian citizens. The Lok Sabha passed the bill on January 8.

The All Assam Students Union and other student organisations in the northeast recently organised a massive rally in Guwahati against the bill.