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Centre was aware of mass resentment in State when CAA was passed

By R Dutta Choudhury

GUWAHATI, Jan 6 - The Central Government was fully aware of the possibility of large scale movements in Assam but it decided to ignore the warnings and went ahead with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. But the Government did not apprehend that agitations would break out in other parts of the country as well.

Official sources admitted before The Assam Tribune that different agencies had informed the Government about the possibility of large scale movements in Assam if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed. �The Government is fully aware of the feelings of the indigenous people of Assam on the issue of CAA. Since the Bill first came in 2016, the Central Government agencies have been reporting to the Government the feelings of the people and the possibility of agitations in the State. But the BJP-led Government decided to carry out its agenda and go ahead with passing of the Bill,� sources added.

Sources said that though the Centre was fully aware of the possible implications on the ground, no one expected the incidents of violence that took place for two days in Assam. Even the police and security forces were not prepared for such violence and it took some time to bring the situation under control. Sources said that only after the police and security forces managed to segregate the people who are agitating peacefully and the trouble mongers, the situation started improving. The decision of the All Assam Students� Union (AASU) to suspend agitations after sunset for a week also helped in improvement of the situation, sources admitted.

Official sources said that some political leaders of Assam had also assured the Central leaders of the BJP before the passing of the Bill that the agitations in Assam would not sustain for a long time.

On the other hand, the Government did not apprehend agitations in other parts of the country. The violent protests in some other parts of the country against the CAA totally took the Government by surprise, sources admitted.

Meanwhile, sources also admitted that with militancy on the wane, it was expected that Assam and other states of North East would start witnessing peace and prosperity. But the situation deteriorated again with the movements against the CAA gaining ground. �Luckily for the State, with the Government of Myanmar acting tough against the militant groups, the ultras are not in a position to regroup. Otherwise they would definitely have tried to take advantage of the situation to launch a recruitment drive,� sources pointed out.

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