Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to allay people's concerns on the Citizenship Act.
Northeastern student groups opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act have said that while they will not disrupt a national sporting event scheduled to be held in Assam's Guwahati later this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is sure to face protests if he decides to make an appearance.
"We will not disrupt the Khelo India youth games due to be organised in Guwahati from January 9 to January 22. But if PM Modi visits Guwahati then, he will face non-violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act," Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya, advisor to the North East Student Organisation (NESO) and All Assam Students' Union (AASU), said at a press conference in Delhi today.
Mr Bhattacharya also accused Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of "betraying" the people's mandate by supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act. "People voted for him in 2016 because they believed he will push the Assam Accord through, but he is betraying them by promoting this law," he said. "Sonowal is indulging in double-speak at a time when the chief ministers of other Northeast states are opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act."
He claimed that the Assam Chief Minister, once his comrade-in-arms, had become an "enemy" of the indigenous people. "Sonowal is running a killer government. Innocent students were killed by his government. He has completely isolated himself," Mr Bhattacharya said.
NESO and AASU have demanded that the controversial law be scrapped over fears that it will pave the way for illegal Bangladeshis to flood the Northeast. "We can't allow illegal Bangladeshis to come, settle and rule over the people of Assam and the Northeast. We will continue our non-violent agitation against this communal and unconstitutional law until it is withdrawn," the representative of the student bodies said, wondering if PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah "will allow illegal Pakistanis to enter Gujarat through the Indo-Pakistan border the same way as they are permitting Bangladeshis to come into Assam".
Mr Bhattacharya also condemned the attack on the Jawaharlal Nehru University two days ago, saying that the centre has failed to protect students of the premier institution. "It was a barbaric attack on innocent students at JNU. Such violence at an academic institution is unacceptable," he said, adding that NESO will hold protests on January 8 and 9 across the Northeast in solidarity with those injured.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, for the first time, makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution before 2015. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.