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Leading Dibrugarh bodies protest Citizenship Bill

By Staff Correspondent

DIBRUGARH, June 7 - Over 28 organisations showcased their unity against the controversial Citizenship Bill during a mass protest organised by All Dibrugarh District Students� Union today.

The mass protest, which later, was taken out on the streets of the city from old government boys school playground partially disrupted traffic movements for almost three hours. They marched towards Marwaripatty, Paanchali, Dibrugarh Town Railway Station and then to Chowkidinghee intersection via Thana Chariali.

The leaders of various organizations, who spoke at the flag off of the protest march and at the concluding of the programme, said that they are prepared for the second Assam Agitation in the event of government not scrapping the Citizenship Bill. The speakers said that they would put up a united fight against the Bill till the last drop of their blood. They also criticised Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for his failure in taking bold step against the Bill.

All Assam Students� Union (AASU) general secretary, Lurinjyoti Gogoi while addressing the protestors said that it is crystal clear that Assam can no longer take the burden of foreigners and that no power can impose it on the state.

�The single slogan of the cross section of the Assamese people is that foreigners will not be allowed to settle in Assam. If someone is hatching a conspiracy to compel Assam to accommodate foreigners, let them know that the manner in which Assam Agitation movement took off few decades back to cast out foreigners, the same would evolve again,� said the AASU leader.

Gogoi further said that the state was compelled to accept foreigners who came before March 25, 1971 but cannot take any further now.

�The Assam government and the Centre must value the democratic protest escalating every nook and corner of the state and they must withdraw the Bill. We cannot allow our language, culture and literature to be trampled by the foreigners. We cannot allow Assam to become a second Tripura. If the government at the Centre is seeking to impose the controversial Bill in the state, both the governments at the Centre and the state will have to pay a heavy price. The elected representatives who had earlier announced that they would protect �jati, mati, bheti� and drive out Bangladeshis after 2016 if they came to power, will also pay the price,� said Gogoi.

Those who took part in the protest included members of Asam Sahitya Sabha, Dibrugarh District Journalists� Association, Sadou Asam Karmachari Parishad, Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), Dibrugarh University Employees Union, All Adivasi Students Association of Assam (AASAA), Assam Tea Tribes Students� Association (ATTSA), Mottock Yuba Chatra Sanmilan, Sonowal Kachari Students� Union, Goriya Moriya Jatiya Parishad, Youth Clubs, Senior Citizens, Women organizations and several others.

Mangaldai Correspondent adds: Around 5,000 people of Mangaldai today registered a strong protest against the Citizenship Bill. A rally was organised by AASU, Mangaldai unit, in association with several organisations, including Mangaldai Bar Association , Brihattar Asomiya Yuva Mancha , North Mangaldai Club among others. Senior citizens , sports organizers and students also took part in the rally . They also gheraoed the Deputy Commissioner�s office and shouted slogans against the Bill and the BJP-led governments both at the Centre and the State.

Later , they demanded scrapping the Citizenship Bill, implementation of Assam Accord within a stipulated time , sealing of Indo-Bangla border and Constitutional safeguards for the indigenous people of the State .

The rally also marked a protest meeting in front of the Deputy Commissioner�s office where several AASU leaders of Darrang, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts, including Santanu Mahanta , Bhargab Kumar Das , Anjan Goswami , Jadav Sarma , Diganta Mani Bora , Kabul Sarma , Arupjyoti Kalita and Khanindra Rajbongshi participated.

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