Protest against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act continued on Sunday with the Opposition, the Congress, kicking off an 800-km-long ‘padayatra’ from Sadiya to Dhubri.
East to west
Sadiya is a far east town of Assam and Dhubri is the headquarters of the western-most district, which is located along the India-Bangladesh border.
“We have been stating it very clearly that Assam will never accept this Act. It is anti-Assam and anti-Northeast. The Congress is with the people of Assam,” Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Ripun Bora said. Addressing a huge crowd, the Rajya Sabha MP said that the agitation will be further intensified till the Act is repealed.
Meanwhile, a public funeral service in memory of teenager Sam Stafford, who was killed in the firing by the security forces, was organised in Guwahati on Sunday.
‘Government brutality’
Hundreds of people, including All Assam Students’ Union leaders, celebrities, writers, artistes and general public, attended the service and condemned the “government’s brutality”.
“The Chief Minister and his forces are engaged in killing innocent children. Sam is the first martyr of the anti-CAA movement. We will not forget him and we will not sit down until the Act is repealed,” AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath said.
Protest marches were organised at several tea gardens in upper Assam, while a huge gathering took place in Rowta of Udalguri district. People and artistes came out in large numbers in Guwahati and other places during the day.
Assam has witnessed one of the worst violent protests by the public in its history with three railway stations, a post office, a bank, a bus terminus, shops, dozens of vehicles and many other public properties being set ablaze or totally damaged.
Already five persons, including four in firing by security forces, have lost their lives since December 11 when the Rajya Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
