Assam Journalists Oppose Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB)

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Along with the massive protest taken out by different sections of the society, the journalists have also came out to express their resentment against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

The journalists staged a sit-in-demonstration in front of Guwahati Press Club on Monday. Over hundreds of journalists came in to join the protest taken out against the CAB. The journalists from different media organizations stated that a circumstance that forced even journalists to oppose the Bill is really tragic and the government must think of the possible circumstances that such vehement protest across the country may lead to.

Taking part in the demonstration programme Haider Hussein said, “We’re already being denigrated and criticized with the saying that the Assamese only wakes up in emotions and it keeps on sleeping other times. This is the last fight for the Assamese, because if the Bill gets passed, Assamese will never receive a second opportunity to fight for themselves. So, it’s high time the people of Assam realized that besides other harm, the Bill will break the spine of the Assamese community. The so-called new Bill will actually tear apart the harmony of Assam. It’s a conspiracy to break the harmony between different tribes of this region as per law. So, we should come together to fight against this conspiracy."

Along with AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath, former Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi too came to the protest place. Answering to the questions of journalists regarding his next stand after this, Gogoi said, “We’ll have to follow a peaceful way by following the non-violence policy of Mahatma Gandhi. When over lakhs of people will go to the jail and will do non-cooperation then the government will understand and will be bound to listen to us. We’ve defeated British, so why can’t we defeat a government like that of the BJP. If I were in power, I would say that I’ll never implement the Bill. If we come in power in the next year, we’ll make a Bill which will allow the people coming only in 1971 to buy land and to do business. We’re never against the Bengali people. We’re with everyone coming before 1971, irrespective of their religion.”

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