Assam: Student body protests against CAA implementation, seeks ILP for state

Even as the issue surrounding the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has heated up, a major protest was held today at Chachal in Guwahati by the Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP). 

The Assam student body raised the banner of protest today as they announced that under no circumstances would they accept CAA in the state. Scores of AJYCP members protested at the venue in Chachal and announced that if the law is not abrogated then a massive protest would be held all over the state. 

The protesters specifically demanded that instead of implementing the CAA in Assam. the Centre should enforce Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state. 

AJYCP president Palash Changmai has said that CAA would not be accepted in Assam under any circumstances. 

"The stand of the AJYCP regarding the CAA is quite clear. We are not going to move from our stand. We will not let the CAA get implemented in Assam. Instead of that we want that ILP should be enforced in Assam without delay," said Changmai.

The matter surrounding the CAA has heated up ever since Union Minister Shantanu Thakur announced in West Bengal that the controversial act would be implemented in a period of seven days. 

Meanwhile, Changmai called the statement by the union minister as unconstitutional.

"It is a completely unconstitutional statement. The matter is sub judice in the apex court of the country. So far the Centre has not been able to frame the law and present it before the Supreme Court. The court will take a decision only after it has listened to all sides. So far the hearing has not taken place. Making such statements in public meetings is an unconstitutional thing," said Changmai. 

The CAA, which was passed by the Indian Parliament in 2020, is designed to offer citizenship to non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014. The act specifically aims to assist Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who faced religious persecution in their native countries.

Despite the controversy surrounding the CAA, with critics arguing that it links citizenship to faith in a secular country, the government has indicated that rules for the CAA will be framed by March 2024. This timeline aligns with the recent claim by Shantanu Thakur regarding the imminent implementation of the CAA.