Will withdraw Citizenship Bill if Paresh Baruah comes back from jungle: Himanta

Guwahati, November 25, 2018:

Assam’s Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 would be withdrawn if Paresh Baruah, the self-styled “commander-in-chief” of outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), joins the mainstream.

“If the bill is an issue, then we are ready to withdraw it if (ULFA-I commander-in-chief) Paresh Baruah comes back from the jungle,” Sarma said.

As there are reports about more and more youth joining the banned militant outfit, he alleged that a section of the people was trying to portray the ULFA-I as a “hero” and influencing the youth to join the rebel group. He said the narrative that the youth were increasingly joining the ULFA-I as a mark of protest against the Citizenship Bill was not correct.

When asked about Rebati Phukan, Sarma said there was no use of talking about someone who has been missing for the past eight months.

On the upcoming panchayat elections, he said the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) were the major opponents of the state’s alliance government and as such, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which is a constituent of the government, should support the BJP to keep the two parties at bay.

He said it was due to the support of the AGP that Sarbananda Sonowal had become the chief minister but at the same time, the AGP cannot deny that BJP too helped them a lot.