GUWAHATI, May 28 - Stressing that the Bharatiya Janata Party�s resounding victory in the general election 2019 would not deter the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the State, the Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill today said that if the ruling party expedites the process of getting the Bill passed, it would divide the people of Assam on linguistic, religious and communal grounds, which might also turn violent.
Addressing the media here, forum president Dr Hiren Gohain and convener Manjit Mahanta said that there is still massive resentment against the Bill among the people and the voting pattern in the Lok Sabha election suggested the same.
�Despite the fact that BJP got the winning numbers in nine Lok Sabha seats, its vote share has gone down in a number of Legislative Assembly constituencies. We cannot ignore the fact that a huge number of people have voted against the saffron party and CAB was a major driving force of anti-BJP votes,� Dr Gohain said.
�As per media reports, the citizenship issue, a new education policy and a more stringent law against sedition top the agenda of the ruling party. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about peace, tranquility and winning the trust of all, the BJP�s attitude towards the Indian Constitution suggests that the country is heading for a communal tyranny,� he added.
The forum also alleged that a lot of factors including polarisation of people, freebies and huge media campaign in favour of Narendra Modi contributed to the political dominance of the BJP in the entire country.
Expressing his view on the security concerns of people of minority communities in the country, anti-CAB forum member Harekrishna Deka said since the BJP had sought votes in the name of Narendra Modi, it is his responsibility to ensure security of all sections of people.
�A number of incidents of attacks on minority community people recently suggest that the minorities are being subjected to harassment and communal attacks. Do Indian Muslims have no place in India,� Deka asked.
On Modi�s minority outreach agenda, the forum members said that it was an image-building exercise as Modi was being vehemently criticised by the international media despite his massive victory.
The forum also vowed to take the anti-CAB movement to the streets of Assam once again making people aware of their democratic rights and the adverse impact of amending the Citizenship Act.
Hitting out at the saffron party for taking sides with the big corporate houses, the forum members stated that huge subsidies announced to the corporate houses would ultimately affect the welfare schemes meant for the poor and underprivileged sections.
