Assam organizations protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill in Delhi
Assam organizations protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill in Delhi Photo: Northeast Now

As a mark of protest and demanding immediate scrapping of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, as many as 70 ethnic organizations including the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samittee (KMSS) on Sunday have started an indefinite hunger strike at the national capital.

The agitators choose to sit at Jantar Matar, hardly 3 kilometers away from the Parliament House.

Significantly, the winter session of the Parliament starts from December 11 and the agitators intends to register their protest during the Parliament session too.

“We umbrella platforms of 70 ethnic organizations from Assam are on a hunger strike from December 9 demanding immediate scrapping of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 for the sake of the Indian constitution and its moral, legal and ethical correctness and to protect Assam and its inhabitants from another long spell of social and political strife,” said KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi.

The organizations appeal to all political parties and individuals to be united to oppose the unconstitutional Bill.

“The Bill is a threat to Assam as it, if passed, is going to spell disaster for the identity of the indigenous people of Assam…BJP is misleading the people of Assam on the would-be impact of the Bill…,” said Gogoi.

Significantly, this is the first such agitation against the Bill at the national capital.

Rajiv Roy is Northeast Now Correspondent in New Delhi. He can be reached at: [email protected]