Two major students’ groups got together on Wednesday to form an advisory panel for taking the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) movement forward and ensuring constitutional, political and administrative rights of the indigenous people of Assam.The 16-member Assam Advisory Committee formed by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) has former Dibrugarh University Vice-Chancellor Nagen Saikia and author Arup Dutta as its chief advisers.
Non-political character
The roadmap for the two organisations includes exploring the formation of a regional political party ahead of the 2021 elections to the 126-member Assembly, though the leaders said the non-political character of their organisations will be maintained.
The AASU, the AJYCP and organisations such as the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti had been spearheading the anti-CAA movement until the COVID-19 restrictions kept most activists indoors.
“The committee will prepare a roadmap and advise the AASU and AJYCP on the anti-CAA movement and to protect the economic, political, cultural and educational interests of the people of Assam,” AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath told journalists.
AASU advisor Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharyya said his group had proposed a national conference for reviewing the movement before the pandemic struck. “We have formed this committee for doing what the conference would have,” he said.
The CAA is expected to be a major election issue with many indigenous organisations having slammed Assam’s coalition government headed by Sarbananda Sonowal for backing the “anti-khilonjia [indigenous people]” Act.
