GUWAHATI, Aug 17 � Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG) president, working president and vice-president today met the students and working people from Assam and Northeast, who came from Hyderabad, Mumbai, etc., fearing attack on them, at the Guwahati railway station.
�Nearly 250 young people of Northeast today came to Guwahati from Hyderabad and many of them admitted that they were threatened to leave the city or face dire consequences after August 20,� SGBG president Dhiren Baruah said.
�What was more disappointing is that there was no government officer or representatives to reassure the people that their interest would be protected. The political parties making inciting comments everyday, were also absent from the scenes,� he added. He also demanded that the culprits behind threatening the Northeastern people must be arrested and punished immediately.
Asserting that the violence in BTAD area is not a communal violence as propagated by many; the SGBG said that the causes behind the incidents are the indicators that it was a group clash.
�Now that the CBI has been given the responsibility to investigate the matter, we believe that the team would probe into the matter impartially. At this hour of crisis, everyone�s responsibility should be to rehabilitate the helpless victims who are presently in the shelter camps,� Dhiren Baruah said.
�It�s not the time to politicize or communalize the issue; rather all should be concerned about the rehabilitation of the riot-hit people,� he added.
Condemning the violence in Mumbai, the NGO said that the culprits behind the incident should be arrested and punished. �The foreigners issue has been disturbing the peace of Assam even before the independence of the country and the only solution to this problem is through political dialogue,� the statement added.
