Neso stir to protest against citizenship bill in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: The Northeast Students' Organization (Neso), representing eight major student organizations of the northeast, on Tuesday staged a protest demonstration against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the city.
The leading student bodies from seven northeastern states vowed to take the movement ahead unless the Centre drops the bill alongwith the Foreigner (Amendment) order and Passport (Entry into India) notification brought out by the BJP-led Union government in 2015 to regularize the entry of minority community people from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Neso has also vehemently opposed the Centre's long-term visa plans for the migrants from the three neighbouring countries.

"Under no circumstances are the people of northeast going to accept the amendment bill, which if passed, will prove devastating for the indigenous tribes and communities. Northeast is not a dumping ground of illegal immigrants. If the Centre forcefully imposes the bill on northeast, the situation will turn volatile and unstable. This is a stern warning to the government," said Neso secretary general Sinam Prakash.

Student activists from the northeastern states thronged the protest programme, which was also joined by people from different walks of life. Shouting slogans against the Centre's move to grant citizenship to migrants on religious lines, members of the Neso-affiliated organizations cautioned the government not to divide migrants on religious grounds.

Twipura Students' Federation (TSF) adviser and Neso vice-chairman, Upendra Dev Barma, said none of the northeastern states should not be turned into another Tripura, where he said the indigenous tribal people have been the worst sufferers of illegal influx. "Tripura was a princely state. Now we have become a microscopic minority, whereas they (migrants) have become the majority. We have lost our culture and everything due to illegal influx from Bangladesh," said Barma.

While giving a clarion call to the chief ministers of the northeast and the respective state governments to voice against the citizenship bill together, Neso adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya said, "The Centre wants to keep the northeast unstable. The government's reluctance to withdraw the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill despite seeing the massive resentment against it shows this," Bhattacharyya charged.

The All Assam Students' Union, one of the major constituents of the Neso, has also carried out a campaign this month demanding a more proactive role by lawmakers against the amendment bill that seeks to grant citizenship to migrants belonging to minority communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014.