A conglomerate of 46 organisations has decided to go ahead with a 12-hour Statewide shutdown on Tuesday against the Centre’s move to pass the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government has warned these organisations of a crackdown besides imposing a penalty on their leaders for the losses likely to be incurred. Data provided by the government in the 126-member Assembly a few days ago said every shutdown makes Assam lose an average ₹67.80 crore.
The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), spearheading the stir, said that the Citizenship Bill would lead to “dumping Hindu Bangladeshis” on Assam. The Bill seeks to grant citizenship to “persecuted” non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who migrated to India till December 31, 2014.
‘Hindu Bangladeshi’ is a term used primarily to mean Bengali-speaking Hindus from Bangladesh, though there are other Hindu immigrant communities such as Koch-Rajbongshi and Hajong in Assam.
“The Assamese groups and organisations have called the bandh against the Citizenship Bill, because it is a dangerous move to make the locals lose their political space and identity,” KMSS leader and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi said on Monday.
‘Not anti-Bengali’
He clarified that the protest was not anti-Bengali but the “Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is trying to create animosity between the Assamese and the Bengalis” by pushing the Bill.
The Sarbananda Sonowal government has asked people not to participate in the shutdown and warned that strict action would be taken against government employees for not reporting on duty. It has ordered the educational institutions, courts and offices to function normally, and threatened to cancel trade licences if shops and commercial establishments remain closed.
The government has directed the administration to take action against troublemakers and recover costs from the organisations whose members are found involved in vandalism and destruction of public property.
Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reminded the 46 organisations of a Gauhati High Court order which had termed bandh illegal. “We have to follow the Court’s order and take action against those who participate in or support the shutdown,” he said.
The Meghalaya government had in 2017 begun imposing heavy penalties on organisations and their leaders for calling bandhs and curbing the rights of the common people. This acted as a deterrent.
According to Assam’s Commerce and Industry Department, the State incurred a loss of ₹881.40 crore due to 13 Statewide bandhs this year.
