C(A)A Row: Peasant Leader Akhil Gogoi Warns of "Conspiracy to Mislead People of Assam"

Guwahati, December 17, 2019:

"There is a conspiracy to mislead the people of Assam" proclaimed Assam peasant leader Akhil Gogoi, both hands in cuffs, as he was being dragged to an uncertain fate in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court on charges of "waging war against the nation" amid the row over the C(A)A.

ALSO READ: KMSS Chief Akhil Gogoi Presented at NIA Court in Guwahati

Gogoi, who has been sent to 10 days in NIA custody, was picked up in Jorhat on Monday and transferred to Guwahati via aircraft. The NIA has filed three cases against Gogoi: under 120 (B)/124(A), 153(A)/153(B), and 18/39 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, becoming the first person to be booked under the Act since it was amended.

Although Gogoi, who is also a prominent RTI activist, has been arrested multiple times in the past, this latest instance of arrest signifies the brewing of trouble beneath the surface amidst the ongoing protests against the allegedly "unconstitutional" Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.

The C(A)A protests, which began as a democratic movement to compel the Government to roll back the controversial legislation, took an ugly turn a day after the Bill's passage, as protesters were seen vandalizing public as well as public properties. Tyres were burnt, Government offices were vandalized, and hooliganism prevailed on the streets.

ALSO READ: KMSS Leader Akhil Gogoi Sent to 10 Days NIA Custody

However, some political leaders, such as the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) leader Samujjal Bhattacharya claim that third party interference caused the agitation against the Act to spiral out of control.

The reported violence during the protests has resulted in a crackdown against the local leaders heading the protests. Apart from Gogoi, his deputy, Dhairjya Konwar, has also been arrested from Guwahati amidst the furor over the C(A)A.

Meanwhile, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed that most of the rioters who were arrested in Guwahati -- which acted as the epicentre of the uprising in Assam -- originally hail from Lower Assam districts such as Barpeta.

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