Once a burning issue, CAA on the back burner in Dibrugarh

WITH LESS than a week to go for polls, the citizenship amendment Act (CAA), once vocally opposed in Assam’s Dibrugarh, seems to have faded into the background of political discussions.

Dibrugarh will see Lurinjyoti Gogoi of t he assamja ti ya paris had (Ajb) who was the face of the anti ca a protest sin 2019-’20 lock horns against Union minister and former CM Sarbananda Sonowal. It is one of the five constituencies in Assam that vote in the first phase on April 19. Voters in Dibrugarh now face the option of choosing continuity, as emphasised by Sonowal — who was an Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) MP between 2004 and 2009 — and the change advocated by Gogoi.

“There is work left to do,” the former CM told a mixed crowd comprising members of the Moran, motok,a di va si, a ho m and Singpho communities from the village of du arm ar a ad orxo ga on, on Thursday. He was referring to expansion of the road network, issuance of ration cards, and the implementation of Central schemes.

Incidentally, Sonowal rose to prominence in the 1990s after he challenged the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 under which the onus of proving one’s nationality rested with the complainant, not the individual.so now al’ s legal challenge and its consequent striking down by the supreme court earned him the sobriquet of “Jatiya Nayak (Assamese national leader)”.

Gogoi, who is a former secretary of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and floated the AJP following the massive anti-caa protests in 2019-2020, is forcing Sonowal to address the CAA. The AJP, which is contesting as part of the opposition india bloc, has accused the former CM of being a “Jatiya Khalnayak (villain)” since his government was in place when the CAA issue boiled over.

“This is not an election between the BJP candidate and L ur in jyoti. it is between the struggles

of the people and the injustices of the BJP government... By bringing the CA A, they are openingcitizenship for foreigners who entered 30 years ago,” Gogoi said at a rally last week.

With the CAA rules being notified days before the polls were announced, Sonowal, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, and the Bjp are looking to turn the issue on its head with claims that the contentious law is finding no takers from the state and accusing leaders such as Gogoi of “misguiding” people. Sarma recently said only one person had applied for citizenship under the CAA.

Voters, who seem to back Gogoi, too are not speaking about CAA. “Lurin should be given a chance as there has been a BJP government and MP for 10 years now. I think governments should keep changing from time to time ,” said 35- year-old ba bu lgogoi,a tea grow erin ad orxo ga on who is not interested in speaking about the Ca a. run uphuk an (41) of pan it ola village, too, echoed Babul.

So now al’ s supporters speak of the construction of new roads to highlight the “good work” of the incumbent government. The BJP is banking on the support of Adivasi tea plantation workers, who make up around 30% of the electorate. “Sonowal is good for tea workers. He is from here and has supported our rights,” said Bamon Harpal, a line supervisor, even as he complained about roads near the chub wat ea estate.

PTI AAP leader Sanjay Singh with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on Sunday.