Security beefed up in Guwahati after black flag protests against PM Modi

Guwahati, February 9, 2019:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi must have been perplexed by his reception in Assam. He was received warmly enough at the airport by Assam’s Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Governor Jagdish Mukhi, but as soon as Modi’s convoy hit the streets of Assam, things started spiraling out of control. Scores of Assamese youths confronted the convoy at many turns, shouting slogans against the ruling administration.

Sources have confirmed that Modi was assured by top BJP officials of the state that the implementation of the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 would not be met with large scale protests, so Modi was visibly upset when his convoy repeatedly ran into black flag protestors and sloganeers on his way to ‘Raj Bhawan’.

Security deployed along the route to the rally venue at Changsari:

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In light of the recent developments, security has been heavily beefed up during the 2-day visit. After addressing a crowd at Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar, the PM's second stop will be in Assam, where he will announce projects worth an estimated Rs. 9,000 crores at Changsari (situated 26 km away from Guwahati).

Security personnel have been deployed every 50 metres on the streets of Guwahati. Moreover, security measures in and near the venue where the PM will speak are even tighter. It remains to be seen whether the BJP administration’s ‘black cloth phobia’ will also continue during the PM’s two-day visit to the Northeast.

The authorities have apprehended many protestors today, but there have been warnings from many indigenous organizations such as the AASU, KMSS, AJYCP, among others, that the protests will only continue to increase in intensity until the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 is scrapped.