Need to come together in fight against citizenship bill, says Ulfa

GUWAHATI: Pro-talks Ulfa on Sunday suggested on Sunday that the movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill be taken up on a united front.
"The need of the hour is to unite the separate movements that have been launched against the proposed amendment. We believe the movement led by Aasu is not very different from ours. If AGP also joins us, the movement will gain significant momentum - enough to take it to the national capital," general secretary of the pro-talks faction of Ulfa, Anup Chetia, said. He was addressing a public convention, organized by 60 organizations of the state at Cotton University, to come up with plans to take the stir against the bill ahead.

Several social organizations and political parties in the Brahmaputra Valley have been on the same page regarding the bill, which seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. AGP and Congress, for instance, and Aasu and KMSS - usually on opposing sides - have unanimously opposed the bill.

On Sunday, various ethnic and regional organizations attended the meet. KMSS adviser Akhil Gogoi said, "A proposal has been made to take the movement to Delhi by staging an indefinite hunger strike and a massive protest in the national capital."

He added, "We want to keep the communal harmony of the state undisturbed, but the BJP is out to win elections by consolidating the votes of Hindu migrants through the citizenship bill."

The organizations which attended the public meet have decided to up the ante against the BJP-led government at the Centre and in the state if the bill is not withdrawn.

Noted intellectual Hiren Gohain said, "In the last 40 years, the people of Assam had been fighting with successive government at the Centre only to safeguard their identity. The development agenda still remains a far cry. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is the last nail to annihilate the Assamese identity and win the 2019 election with communal politics."