Assam witnesses shutdown over Citizenship bill
Dispur, Jan 8 (IBNS): The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) called for a state-wide bandh (strike) on Tuesday as a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) bill, 2016, which is likely to be tabled in the parliament, media reports said.
The bandh has started at 5 am and will continue till 4 pm.
In a major setback for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party before the coming Lok Sabha elections, the Asom Gana Parishad on Monday withdrew support from the saffron party-led government in Assam.
The oldest NDA ally in Assam severed ties with the BJP over the Citizen (Amendment) Bill that is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
The announcement in this regard was made by AGP president Atul Bor.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, aims to give citizenship to Hindu, Parsi, Sikh, Jain and Christian migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The AGP is opposed to the Bill, saying such a measure will destroy Assam by allowing an influx of Bangladeshi Hindus.
The Asom Gana Parishad had in October took out a rally against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Guwahati.
In the 126-seat Assembly in Assam, BJP has 61 MLAs and had outside support by the AGP.
This comes as a big jolt for the BJP as they have always tried to keep regional parties on their side, especially in the northeast. The setback comes after the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh and the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party in Bihar broke away from the NDA.
Image: Representative image from facebook.com/AssamAASU
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