Ahead of the assembly elections in Assam, the Congress party seems to be all set to stir up anti-CAA protests in the state again as it announced that they would build a memorial to commemorate the ‘martyrdom’ of anti-CAA protests killed in Assam if voted to power.
“After winning the election, we shall make a memorial for the anti-CAA people’s movement that has been ongoing in Assam over the last few years. The memorial shall remember the people’s struggle and sacrifices, protest songs and paintings,” said Pradyut Bordoloi, chairman of the Congress campaign committee.
Echoing the same, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Ripun Bora also added that the grand memorial would be built in the capital city Guwahati. “In the coming months, Guwahati will see a new landmark — a grand memorial in memory of the anti-CAA movement to be built by the incoming Congress government. This will be the state’s message to BJP. No CAA in Assam,” Bora said.
Reportedly, the Congress leaders have picked up the anti-CAA plank in Assam ahead of the elections and campaigned in all 126 constituencies through “Axom Basaon Ahok” (Let’s Save Assam) Yatra.
CAA violates Assam Accord, claims Rahul Gandhi
The statement from the state Congress leadership is coming just two days after Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi had claimed that his party will respect the Assam Accord and will not implement the “botched-up CAA” if sworn to power.
Following the Citizenship Amendment Act by the Modi government in December 2019 to grant citizenship to the six persecuted minorities from the three neighbouring Islamic countries, large-scale violence had erupted in Assam against the CAA that led to the death of five protestors. The CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are sensitive issues in Assam, which borders Bangladesh.
It is believed that the implementation of CAA would violate the Assam Accord of 1985, which promised to detect and deport the foreigners with March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date.
Contrary to that, the CAA would guarantee citizenship to the Bengali Hindu community situated in Barak valley (South Assam). Hindu Bengalis, who are residing in South Assam and missed the Supreme Court-monitored NRC, are likely to benefit from the CAA and are considered a major vote bank in the region.