Citizens’ bodies of Lakhimpur district protest against Citizenship Amendment Act

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: Several citizens’ bodies of Lakhimpur district initiated stir on Friday opposing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019. Free Thinkers Citizen Forum of Lakhimpur (FTCFL) demonstrated sit-in in front of Lakhimpur Deputy Commissioner’s office against the Act in association with Lakhimpur District Senior Citizens’ Association, Lakhimpur District Government Pensioners’ Association, Lakhimpur Citizens’ Forum, North Lakhimpur Businessmen Forum, and Mangalbodh Jagaran Kendra. FTCFL president Uday Sankar Hazarika, secretary Arup Kalita, Senior Citizens’ Association president Tileswar Borah, secretary Debananda Saikia, Pensioners’ Association secretary Bidyadhar Gohain, Citizens’ Forum president Birinchi Hazarika, Lakhimpur AASU general secretary delivered speeches taking part in the program.

By staging the agitation program, the organizations demanded the withdrawal of the controversial Act from Assam. As per the opinion of these agitating organizations, the rehabilitation of foreigners adapting the CAA is an unprecedented attempt. In this regard, the organizations jointly submitted a memorandum to the President of India demanding him to initiate his steps to exempt Assam from the jurisdiction of the Act.

The memorandum stated that immigration had been going on to the State at various times from different places for multiple factors during the pre-independent period.

“Perpetual immigration was unabatedly going on to Assam even during the post-independent period. Subsequently, Assam witnessed the Anti-Foreigners Movement from 1979 to 1985 with the demand to extradite the illegal migrants from the State. As a consequence of the movement concerned, the legalization of the illegal migrants in Assam by fixing 1971 as the base year instead of 1951 by the then government is a self-evident act of betrayal to the State. Even after this, foreigners have been intruding on the State because of fencing-free borders. Under such circumstances, Assam should be exempted from the extent of the CAA,” the memorandum stated.

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