The ongoing protest against Citizenship Bill, 2016, which the BJP-led NDA Government wants to get passed in the Parliament, turned violent on Thursday with the vandalisation of a BJP office at Palashbari in South Kamrup.
According to media reports, the South Kamrup’s district office of the BJP was vandalised and set on fire by angry activists of Aikya Sena Asom at Uparhali in Palashbari near Guwahati on Thursday.
In this connection, the police have arrested three members of Aikya Sena Asom including Biplab Kumar Talukdar, general secretary, Chatra Aikya Sena Asom, Manoj Maram Rabha, president of Dakshin Kamrup College students’ unit and Kalyan Das, a member of the State committee of Aikya Sena Asom.
They were arrested by police of Rani Outpost under Palashbari Police Station.
Before setting the BJP office on fire, a group of Aikya Sena Asom activists staged a massive protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 since morning on Thursday in the area.
The Aikya Sena Asom activists shouted slogans against the Bill and the BJP-led NDA Government, and demanded that the Citizenship Bill be withdrawn.
Amid protests in Assam and a bandh across Northeast on Tuesday, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha on the day. Earlier, the Bill was introduced on the floor of the Lok Sabha by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. But the Bill is yet to get Rajya Sabha nod.
Besides, the BJP-led Government, the protesters also shouted slogans against Palashbari Assembly constituency’s BJP MLA Pranab Kalita and demanded his resignation.
According to media reports, the protesters burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for their adamant attitude to get the Bill passed.
The BJP-led Government wants to get the Citizenship Bill passed to grant citizenship to 6 minority communities including the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who entered India due to religious persecution.