GUWAHATI, Jan 1 - The involvement of cross section of people in the ongoing movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is much more than during the Assam agitation. This was the observation of Prof Basanta Deka, who was actively involved with the Assam agitation. He also expressed the view that the agitation against the CAA would last for a long time if required because of the people�s involvement.
When asked by The Assam Tribune to compare between the Assam agitation and the ongoing movement against the CAA, Deka pointed out that during the Assam agitation, the decisions were taken centrally by the All Assam Students� Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP). But the situation is now different as people of all walks of life are agitating on their own without any centralized decisions. In addition to the agitation programmes announced by the AASU, people are launching agitations on their own. It took some time for the Assam agitation to pick up momentum, but in this case, it did not take any time for the agitation to gather momentum, he added.
Deka said that this time, prominent artistes of the State have come to the forefront of the movement on their own, which is another positive development. All sections of people including old people from the interior places are aware of the immediate threat posed by the CAA to the indigenous people of Assam, he added. He said that the people of Assam overwhelmingly voted the ruling alliance to power and that is why the people feel betrayed.
Replying to a question whether the agitation against the CAA would sustain for long time if required, Deka expressed the view that the agitation would sustain because of the active involvement of the people. The young people including the students are also taking very active part in the movement as they are fully aware of the dangers posed by the CAA and there is no doubt that the agitation will sustain, he said.
Deka expressed the view that Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, a former president of the AASU, should have taken a firm stand on the issue. �Sonowal should have told the Centre clearly that it would not be possible to violate the Assam Accord. In fact, we believe that the Centre was wrongly briefed about the situation in Assam by the State Government,� he added.
