The inferno of protecting jati, mati, and bheti from the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has now reached the premises of the prestigious Gauhati University in Assam.
The Gauhati University Teachers’ Association (GUTA) has voiced out against the government’s move of enacting the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which is to be tabled on December 9 at the Lok Sabha and on December 10 at the Rajya Sabha.
The professors of the University took out a protest rally from the main gate of the University to the Jalulkbari area in Guwahati. The professors, during the protest, made it clear that the Bill will not be accepted at any cost and warned the government not to go against the "will of the people."
President of GUTA, Professor Akhil Ranjan Dutta said, “The contentious Bill will stomp on the spirit of the 'Assam Agitation' that took place from 1979-1985. The law which is being applied to give citizenship to these illegal migrants based on religion will violate the constitutional and democratic rights of people of Assam.”
He further added that the BJP-government came to power with the promise of amending the 'Assam Accord', but have betrayed the people. "In the fight against this communal Bill, we are losing our basic rights", lamented the Professor.
Joining in protest, the students’ union of the university have also taken out a protest against the Bill and hanged the effigies of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, NEDA convener Himanta Biswa Sarma, AGP chief Atul Bora, Minister Keshab Mahanta, and BJP state president Ranjeet Dass at the main gate of the University.
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However, the protest took an ugly turn when local authorities turned up to stomp out the protest due to the imposition of section 144 of the CrPc in the state, due to the mass protests being carried out against the Bill.
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