Bengali organisations in southern Assam’s Barak Valley have condemned the sedition charge against Assamese scholar Hiren Gohain and two others for allegedly stoking separatism while opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
They have also criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government for taking a few contentious steps that have created differences among religious, linguistic and ethnic groups in Assam.
The Gauhati High Court on Friday granted interim bail to Dr. Gohain, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi and journalist-activist Manjit Mahanta in sedition cases filed by the Latasil police in Guwahati.
“The sedition charge is against the democratic spirit of the county. Everyone has a right to have an opinion,” Tapodhir Bhattacharjee of the Silchar-based Citizens’ Rights Protection Coordination Committee said.