Assam groups opposing citizenship bill seek meeting with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, threaten mass movement

Guwahati: Representatives of organisations who had called a 12-hour Assam bandh on Tuesday against the Centre’s move to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, on Wednesday sought an appointment with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to discuss the issue. [caption id=“attachment_4481349” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Sarbananda Sonowal. News18[/caption] Serving an ultimatum on Sonowal to convene a meeting within a week with the representatives of 60 organisations that had called the bandh, RTI activist Akhil Gogoi warned that a mass movement would be launched across the state in protest against the bill in case the chief minister refused to hear them out. “We have come to know that the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is likely to submit its report in Parliament in the Winter Session. However, the Assam government has yet to make its stand clear on the bill,” said Gogoi. The bill seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, drawing opposition from several organisations in Assam. Gogoi said representatives of the agitating organisations also plan to meet legislators of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) to know the party’s position over the issue. The AGP is a member of the BJP-led coalition government in Assam.