WON’T ALLOW CAA IMPLEMENTATION: RAHUL GANDHI AT GUWAHATI RALLY
GUWAHATI: On his first campaign visit to poll-bound Assam, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday that his party won’t allow implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, that has sparked protests in the past in the northeastern state.
Addressing a rally in Sivasagar, Gandhi said the legislation, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to religious minorities from the Muslim-majority nations of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ploy to divide the people.
“Illegal immigration is an issue, but Assam’s people have the capability to resolve this problem together with talks,” Gandhi said. There’s fear among a large section in Assam that if CAA is implemented, it would lead to large-scale influx of people from Bangladesh.
Stressing that the Congress will uphold and defend the Assam Accord, signed in 1985 after a six-year agitation against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Gandhi said the BJP was trying to do away with the accord and implement CAA.
GUWAHATI: On his first campaign visit to poll-bound Assam, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday that the party won’t allow implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that has sparked protests in the past in the northeastern state.
Addressing a rally at the Boarding Field sports facility in Sivasagar, he said the legislation, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to religious minorities from the Muslimmajority nations of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ploy to divide the people.
“We are wearing a gamcha (traditional Assamese towel) today where letters CAA have been written and marked with a cross. It signifies that come what may, CAA won’t happen. Illegal immigration is an issue, but Assam’s people have the capability to resolve this problem together with talks.”
There’s fear among a large section in Assam that if CAA is implemented, it would lead to large-scale influx of people from
Bangladesh. Violent protests against the legislation in the state in December 2019 claimed five lives. Stressing that the Congress will uphold and defend the Assam Accord, signed in 1985 after a six-year agitation against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Gandhi said the BJP was trying to do away with the accord, divide the state and implement the CAA.
Accusing the Bjp-led government of Assam of exploiting tea garden workers and giving benefit to businessmen from Gujarat, Gandhi promised that if the Congress comes to power in the state it would increase daily wage of tea workers from present ₹167 to ₹365.
“A mere ₹167 to tea workers and tea gardens to Gujarat businessmen. That’s why BJP wants to divide the state so that its resources can be stolen and given to others,” he said.
Gandhi recalled how he learned a lot about Assam’s diverse communities, languages and cultures from former chief minister Tarun Gogoi (who passed away in November) during his visits to the state.
“The BJP government at Centre has hurt the people of Assam by putting Gogoi, who gave his entire life for the state in the same category of Padma awardees list with a bureaucrat who had served the Prime Minister Modi’s office. This was not a right thing,”
Gogoi was named as a recipient of Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in the country, this year. Retired bureaucrat Nripendra Mishra who served as a principal secretary to the Prime Minister between 2014 and 2019 was also given the same honour.
Gandhi continued with his recent jibe, ‘Hum do, Hamare Do’ (We two, Our two) and said that the country was being run by four people at present. Without taking names he added that like in the Centre, two persons were controlling everything in Assam. “We are a people’s party. If we come to power, the hatred being spread by BJP will disappear. We will take every section of the people irrespective of their caste, religion, language and status along with us and will create jobs for youths of Assam,” he said.
“Remote control might be good for a television, but not when it comes to running a state like Assam. The present chief minister is remote controlled from Nagpur and Delhi and take orders from there. That’s why we want to remove this government,” he added.
Chhattisgarh chief minister and party observer for Assam, Bhupesh Baghel, the Congress party’s state in-charge Jitendra Singh, Lok Sabha MPS Gaurav Gogoi, Pradyut Bordoloi and Abdul Khaleque, party state president Ripun Bora and other senior leaders attended the rally. Gandhi’s rally comes three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally at Jerenga Pathar in Sivasagar district on January 23 and distributed land allotment certificates to 106,000 landless families.