A BJP MP has warned that Bangladeshi Muslims are a bigger threat to Assam than Hindus from that country, countering opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
Bijoya Chakraborty, who represents Guwahati, was responding to the alleged endorsement of the Bill by the Asom Sattra Mahasabha — the apex body of Vaishnavite monasteries — before the Joint Parliamentary Panel in New Delhi on April 12.
The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 to make ‘persecuted’ Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship.
Organisations such as the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) have said they will not allow the BJP to implement its plan to “dump Hindu Bangladeshis” in the State by tweaking the Citizenship Act. They have also asked the Mahasabha heads to quit.
The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the BJP’s ruling ally, too has joined the anti-Citizenship Bill chorus. The regional party has been threatening to sever ties with the BJP on the issue for more than a year now.
‘Not against State’
“The Mahasabha knows what it is doing. Some people are making noises without realising that the Bangladeshi Muslims pose a bigger threat to Assam than the Bangladeshi Hindus,” Ms. Chakraborty told presspersons on Friday.
The issue of Bangaldeshi migrants has roiled Assam and dominated elections since the anti-foreigners agitation in 1979.
The Mahasabha’s secretary, Kusum Kumar Mahanta, denied the criticism, and said the spiritual organisation had done nothing “that is against the interest of the State”. BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami said people with vested interests had been creating a wrong impression about the Citizenship Bill. “This is not about Hindu Bangladeshis but religious minorities from neighbouring States, and Assam alone won’t bear the burden of the migrants,” he said.
