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Guwahati:
Thousands of people defied curfew in Guwahati and took to the streets in protest, opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or CAB that was passed in parliament on Wednesday. The army has been deployed in four areas of Assam as thousands protested on Wednesday evening, clashing with policemen and plunging the state into chaos. Amid violent protests in the northeast, the contentious bill passed parliament last evening after being cleared by the Rajya Sabha with 125 voting for it and 99 against. Transport services to the region has been severely impacted as all train services to Assam and neighbouring Tripura have been suspended following protests. Several airlines too have cancelled flights to Guwahati and Dibrugarh.
Five columns of army – each column consisting of 70 personnel – have been deployed in Assam. Two army columns have been deployed in Guwahati city and carried out flag marches, Indian Army PRO Lt Col P Khongsai as saying. Army personnel have also been deployed in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Jorhat districts, officials.
Guwahati, Assam’s largest city and the epicentre of the protests, was placed under indefinite curfew while mobile internet services were suspended in 10 districts in the state. The curfew was later extended to Dibrugarh as protesters targeted the homes of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union minister Rameswar Teli in the district. Stones were thrown at the house of the chief minister in the Lakhinagar area. Protesters also damaged properties at the house of the Union minister in Duliajan.
The people of Assam have nothing to worry about after the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted this morning amid massive protests. “No one can take away your rights,” the Prime Minister wrote. this morning, people defied the curfew in Guwahati and came out to protest. Two groups – students’ body AASU and KMSS – have asked people to step out of their homes.There were also reports of police firing from suburban Guwahati.
IndiGo announced that all its flights to and from Dibrugarh in Assam are cancelled today. SpiceJet also said it is offering refund and waiver of cancellation or change fees for all flights to and from Guwahati and Dibrugarh till Friday. Other airlines such as Vistara and GoAir also announced the cancellation of flights to these two cities and waiving of cancellation or rescheduling fee.
Tens of thousands of people against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill descended on the streets of Assam, setting of protests of a magnitude unseen since the violent six-year movement by students that ended with the signing of the Assam accord. A railway station in Dibrugarh’s Chabua, the hometown of the Chief Minister, was set on fire by protestors late in the night. The Panitola railway station in Tinsukia district was also torched, a Northeast Frontier Railway spokesperson said.
In neighboring Tripura, three columns of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force commanded by Army officials, were pressed into service yesterday, the army said. A defence spokesman had earlier said in a statement that two columns of the army were deployed in Tripura.
Internet services are already suspended in the entire state for 48 hours from 2 pm on Tuesday. The opposition Congress has, meanwhile, called for a shutdown in Tripura today.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha two days earlier with the support of 334 MPs in the house where the government enjoys a brute majority. The ruling BJP does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha but managed the numbers needed to pass the bill.
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