GUWAHATI, Dec 15 - Songs, poems and dialogues from famous Assamese plays reverberated the city from morning to evening on Sunday as artistes from across the State expressed their resentment against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
The protest programme titled �No CAA � Concert for Peace and harmony � Voice of All Artistes of Assam�, organised by the State�s artiste fraternity under the leadership of singer and filmmaker Zubeen Garg was held at the Assam Engineering Institute playground in Chandmari.
Addressing the gathering with his famous song �Politics Nokoriba Bandhu�, Zubeen said, �Youths of Assam have the power to change the country and it is the right time to use this power. We should use our energy to save our identity.�
Congratulating the student fraternity for their active role in the anti-CAA movement, Zubeen said people should peacefully continue with the movement.
Participating in the cultural protest, chief adviser of the All Assam Students� Union (AASU) Dr Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya said, �Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in a video message yesterday (Saturday), which was telecast in the electronic media, said that under the CAA, only a very few foreigners will get Indian citizenship in Assam. So now we demand Sonowal to discuss the issue with the Prime Minister and make some arrangements to resettle the small number of foreigners in Gujarat in place of Assam. We will accept not a single illegal foreigner.�
Terming the current BJP-led government as �killer�, Bhattacharya said the government has no right to kill innocent people during the democratic protests. �First they betrayed us, and when we started raising our voice, then this government started killing us,� he alleged.
Bhattacharya said the legal battle against the CAA in the Supreme Court will start soon and the AASU has already completed all formalities.
AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath said it is time to remove the government from power and think about another political option.
AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi congr-atulated the artiste fraternity for their active role in the movement.
�It is time to be careful in every step so that no conspiracy can derail our movement,� he said.
AJYCP leader Palash Changmai also spoke at the meet and slammed the BJP-led government.
Actress Prostuti Parashar said, �In the past few years, both the Congress and the BJP played political games with the Assamese people. So today, the people of Assam have come out to the streets. It is sure and certain that the government will not be able to suppress this revolution by using military force.�
Citing the visit of the Joint Parliamentary Committee as a political drama, she said that now there is no time to take rest. She also declared that she will no more participate in any government event until the Act is repealed.
Actress Barasha Rani Bishaya alleged that the government has been conspiring to trigger communal clashes among the Assamese and Bengali people. �It is time to prevent all kinds of conspiracies and be united. I hate this government which killed some innocent youths to stop the anti-CAA movement. Bullets will not stop the people Assam. We will fight until the government repeals the Act,� she said.
Performing his newly-composed song against the CAA, singer-music director Manas Robin said, �The Assamese people are very unlucky because we lack good and efficient leaders. Moreover, everyone has betrayed us after coming to power. So it is time to be careful. Don�t make anyone a hero or villain overnight.�
Appealing to all sections of people to maintain peace and harmony during the protest, he also said that now Assam needs a new political option. He urged the artiste fraternity to take the movement to rural Assam.
Many senior artistes, including Surya Das, Manisha Hazarika, Sandhya Menon, Pulak Banerjee, JP Das and Namita Das along with Bhitali Das, Jina Rajkumari, Kallol Borthakur, Dikshu, Bipin Chaudang, etc., performed in the meet.
Along with the protest meet, a group of artists under the banner of the Assam Charu Karu Kala Parishad, Guwahati Artists� Guild and the Drishya Kala Shilpi Sanstha, Assam painted anti-CAA messages on canvas at the playground. Senior artists Biren Singha, Nani Barpujari, Aminul Haque, Sarat Barua, Utpal Barua, Khanin Das, Champak Borbora, Shiva Prasad Marar, Paran Banti Devi, among others took part in the programme. Artist Kishor Kumar Das said it was an initiative to unite all the artists of the North East in the movement against the CAA.
