Assam NRC Row updates: Police prohibits TMC delegation, leaders from entering Guwahati until further notice

Assam Police says TMC leaders taken in preventive detention to maintain law and order

Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Agarwal has clarified that the delegation of the MPs and MLAs of Trinamool Congress has been taken in “preventive detention” under section 151 of the CrPC. The leaders were detained in view of a possible disruption of the law and order situation in Barak Valley, especially during the ongoing drive for concluding the process of NRC  in the state. 

Input by Tilak Purkayastha, 101 Reporters

TMC leader Mahua Moitra seen assaulting woman constable at Silchar Airport

Assam Police arrests members of TMC delegation, says report

The eight members of the TMC delegation who arrived in Silchar over the Assam NRC issue were arrested by the Assam Police, News18 Assam and North East reported on Thursday. The TMC leaders are West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim, MLA Mohua Moitra, and MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag, Mamta Thakur, Nadimul Haque, and Arpita Ghosh.

‘200 suspected foreigners in NRC draft of Morigaon district’

The names of 200 suspected foreigners belonging to 39 families made it to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft that was released in Assam’s Morigaon district, Deputy Commissioner Hemen Das said on Thursday.

He said the matter was detected during the printing process of the draft in the district. These names would be omitted from the final NRC draft, which would be released after disposing of the claims and objections, Das added.

PTI

Centre imposing super Emergency, says Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that members of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation were “manhandled” by police at an Assam airport and accused the Centre of imposing “super Emergency”.

“When I went to meet Union home minister Rajnath Singh, he told me that no one will be harassed. And after that, a TMC parliamentary delegation comprising a minister, one MLA and six MPs who went to meet the victims was not allowed to come out of the airport itself. Inside the airport, they were manhandled by Assam Police. Even female members were not spared,” Banerjee said after returning to Kolkata from Delhi on Thursday evening.

IANS

BJP’s ally in Tripura strikes discordant note on NRC revision

The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the ruling BJP in the north-eastern state, has raised a case for a revision of the citizens’ register to safeguard the state’s demography, despite Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb’s assertion that there is no need for it.

State Tribal Welfare Minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia, who is also the IPFT general secretary, said he was hoping for a revision of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) since the demographic situation in Assam and Tripura was “more or less similar”.

“We have already demanded a review of the NRC in the state. We had submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs before the 18 February Assembly election. Assam and Tripura face more or less the same situation in terms of demographic balance,” he said, adding that the IPFT was planning to organise a mega rally of tribals near Agartala to press its demand.

PTI

TMC MP Saugata Roy raises issue in Lok Sabha, says Assam authorities move breach of MPs’ privilege 

Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Saugata Roy raised the issue of party delegation being stopped at Assam’s Silchar Airport in Lok Sabha. He said a delegation of party leaders, including MPs, which was on its way to Assam to assess the situation after release of the final draft of the NRC, was “detained” at Silchar airport.

He said it was a breach of their privilege. He was supported by other Trinamool Congress members. Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai, who was in the chair, said that he would convey their sentiments to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Roy later said that the “freedom of MPs has been eroded by Assam government” and that he would give a privilege notice on the issue.

TMC leaders want to foment unrest in Assam, says Bengal BJP

West Bengal BJP leaders on Thursday accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation of going to Assam to foment trouble over the issue of the NRC. Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Dilip Ghosh claimed that the Trinamool delegation went to Assam to provoke tension in the region and possibly to fuel a “civil war” on the lines of their party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s comments.

“No one asked them to go to Assam. Why did they go there? Their party chief Mamata Banerjee said a civil war will start in Assam over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) list but Assam has been peaceful so far. Maybe the Trinamool team went there to start a civil war,” Ghosh alleged.

IANS

Assam Police say legal action will be taken against TMC leaders for violating Section 144, injuring police personnel 

Assam Police DGP, Kuladhar Saikia said, “We had requested the delegation of TMC leaders not to come to Silchar now as it was important for us to maintain peace in the state. Moreover, Section 144 is imposed in Cachar district. We feared that their arrival might create differences among people and so they were stopped at the airport.” 

TMC leader Antosh Choudhary says party leaders may be kept at NIT guest house overnight 

Assam NRC field officer, army man**, CISF jawan miss** spot on NRC list

Moinul Hoque, a government teacher who was deployed as Field Level Officer for NRC, Sepoy Inamul Hoque, and Osman Gani, a CISF jawan have something in common. According to  The Indian Express ,  all of these people are on government pay role, are serving the nation, and claim to be Indian citizens but yet they find themselves among the 40 lakh people whose names are missing from the “complete draft” of the NRC.

Assam Police plan to send back TMC delegation to West Bengal

According to sources, the Assam Police has given the TMC delegation two options. They can either stay over at a guest house in Silchar under police protection and will be put on the first flight out of Silchar tomorrow. Alternatively, the TMC leaders can choose to go to Guwahati from where they will be put on a plane to Kolkata tonight as the state capital is also under section 144.

During their stay in Silchar they cannot hold meeting or meet anyone and in Guwahati they are restricted to go out of Airport

Input by Tilak Purkayastha/101 reporters

NRC trouble spills over to other states: BJP wants list of citizens in Bengal, Delhi; Khasi students stop vehicles in Meghalaya

The controversy around the NRC list has spilled over to other states as well. In West Bengal, BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said, “More than a crore illegal immigrants live in Bengal too. We won’t spare anyone. They will have a very bad time.” BJP’s Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari had also written to the home ministry to run a similar exercise in the national capital to weed out ‘illegal’ Rohingya Muslim immigrants from the region. 

Meanwhile, in Meghalaya, vigilantes led by Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and other groups set up check posts on the highway and other border routes to keep “illegal migrants” out of “our homeland”,  The Hindu   reported.

TMC mulling privilege motion in LS over detention of party MPs in Silchar

The All India Trinamool Congres Party is mulling to bring a privilege motion in the Lok Sabha over the detention of party MPs at Silchar Airport in Assam, News18 reported. The party members also claimed that they were manhandled by the local police.

Three police personnel, including two women constables injured in scuffle with TMC leaders

Will take decision on arresting TMC leaders after hearing their plans, says Assam Police

“We’ll take a decision on arresting the TMC delegation only after hearing their next course of action as they still are inside Silchar airport. During the scuffle with the TMC delegation team, one of our lady was constable injured. We cannot allow deterioration of the law and order situation,” Assam Deputy General of Police, Kuladhar Saikia said.

Assam Police mulling to shift TMC delegation to NIT guest house 

According to sources in the Assam Police, the authorities are thinking of shifting the eight TMC leaders to the NIT guest house in Silchar. The leaders are currently still inside the airport as the authorities did not allow them to walk out and meet the people left out of the NRC draft. 

Input by Pranjal S, 101 Reporters

Assam Police says woman constable injured during scuffle with TMC delegations

Assam Deputy General of Police, Kuladhar Saikia said: “The order issued to TMC delegation was clear, they were told by Dist Administration not to visit Assam so that the existing peace and harmony in state is not disturbed but they were reluctant. One lady police was injured in the scuffle at Silchar Airport

Don’t agree with Mamata Banerjee on NRC issue, says Dwipen Pathak 

Dwipen Pathak, who resigned as the party’s Assam unit president just an hour ago, said, “What Mamata Banerjee said about NRC, that it has been brought in Assam to drive out Bengalis, is not true. I don’t agree with that. It might create disturbance here and the blame would be on me as the party president, so I’ve resigned from the post.”

Pathak also said that party supremo Mamata Banerjee never cared about Assam and now she is interfering in the state’s matter and spreading rumours about a sensitive issue.

‘This is the beginning of the end’: Mamata Banerjee says crackdown on TMC leaders shows BJP’s frustration 

Reacting to the news that the TMC members have been detained at the Silchar Airport, party supremo Mamata Banerjee said , “It is not just enough to condemn these atrocities. I think this is the beginning of the end. They are frustrated, they are politically tensed and depressed and that’s why they are showing muscle power.”

TMC delegation detained at Silchar Airport by Assam Police

The Assam police has detained the TMC members at the Silchar airport after they threatened to sit on a dharna inside the airport. The TMC delegation was protesting against the police’s move to prevent them fromleaving airport and meeting people who have been left out of NRC list.

TMC MPs to sit on dharna at Silchar airport, say reports

According to News18 Assam and North East, the delegation of TMC leaders will sit on a dharna protest inside the Silchar airport in Assam to protest against the police action of preventing them from leaving airport and meeting the people.

Party leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy told News18 that this was a political decision taken to stop TMC leaders from meeting the people and had nothing to do with administrative concerns

Assam TMC chief Dwipen Pathak resigns over NRC row 

President of Assam TMC, Dwipen Pathak who was the party’s only MLA in Assam Assembly has resigned from his post. He held a press conference in Guwahati where he announced his decision to quit from his post.

He had urged the Trinamool Congress to not send a delegation to Assam. He said that he cannot act against his state and that the TMC is trying to divide Assam through divisive politics and provocative remarks.

Watch: TMC delegation was stopped at Assam’s Silchar airport

TMC leaders allege police misbehaved with party delegation at airport

All eight TMC leaders are still at the Silchar airport. Party leader Kakali Ghosh Dastidar alleged that the Assam Police was misbehaving with her party colleagues. However, S Laxman, Assam’s Cachar district ’s deputy commissioner denied the allegations saying that nothing like this had happened. 
 

Urban development minister of West Bengal, Firhad Hakim, who is also a part of the delegation trying to visit Assam, alleged that the police have retained only TMC members while they allowed other 71 passengers to go. “The situation is worse than Emergency in the country. BJP has adopted strong-arm tactics to intimidate us but we won’t be afraid. We will fight the injustice meted out to Indian citizens until we find a logical conclusion to this problem,” Hakim said.

Input by Atonu Choudhary/ West Bengal/ 101 reporters

Govt thwarting TMC leaders from exercising democratic right, says Assam TMC general secretary Antosh Choudhury 

“Lakhs of people are suffering in Assam due to NRC. Our leaders came here to meet the common people and to see how they are dealing with the sutuation. As public representatives and citizens of India, they can go anywhere in the country. Assam is part of India and thus such sort of behavior from the administration is undemocratic. We strongly oppose it, government will have to give an answer to all of this,” Choudhary said. 

Input from Tilak Purkayastha/101reporters

MP Sougata Roy raises issuue of TMC MPs being detained at Silchar aiport in Lok Sabha

TMC MP Sougato Roy on Thursday raised the issue of TMC MPs being detained at the Silchar airport by Assam police in the Parliament. He said that this is a “breach of privilege”.

TMC MPs shout slogans against Modi govt at Silchar airport

Detained TMC MPs shouted slogans at the Silchar aiport as police took assurances from them that they won’t indulge in provocative speeches while in the State.

Assam government is ’terrified’, we will fight for ‘Maa Mati Manush’: TMC

“The Assam government under Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonwal is terrified. We will fight till the end for the Maa Mati Manush of Assam,” said Trinamool Congress (TMC) in a tweet from its official handle.

‘Our democratic right to meet people’, says TMC MP Derek O’Brien 

“Our delegation was detained at Silchar airport. It is our democratic right to meet people, this is a super emergency like situation,” said TMC MP Derek O’Brien

Derek O’Brien addresses media, alleges manhandling of TMC MPs at Silchar airport

TMC leader Derek O’Brien on Thursday addressed a press conference in Delhi to allege manhandling TMC MPs at the Silchar aiport in Assam. He said that TMC has no intention of breaking the law.

Heavy security deployment in Silchar 

Security has been beefed up in various areas of the Barak Valley town. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) has been deployed around the airport premises.Assam Police is also closely monitoring the situation.

Image courtesy: Firstpost/Tilak Purkayastha

TMC MPs detained inside Silchar airport as a precautionary measure

The TMC Delegation led by Farhad Hakim has not been allowed to get out of Silchar Airport. They have been detained inside the airport as a precautionary measure.

TMC delegation detained at Silchar airport, asked to assure that they won’t make any provocative speeches over NRC issue

The TMC delegation that landed at Silchar around 2 pm was detained inside the airport by the police. 

Silchar administration stops TMC MPs from exiting airport

TMC representatives were not allowed to enter Silchar. As soon as they landed at the Silchar Airport, the administration stopped them from exiting the airport, local reports claimed.

Assam Student Union welcomes TMC delegation, asks them to see for themselves the growth of illegal migrants in the State

The All Assam Students Union​ (AASU) general secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi said, “We welcome them. Since they are here we want them to visit the porous Indo-Bangla border and look for themselves the situation the state is in. Also, let them take a look at the unprecedented growth of illegal migrants in these areas. I hope their visit is pleasant and I am sure that they won’t achieve what their leader has set out to achieve. People of the state have welcomed the NRC draft release and there is no apprehension among the people.” Pranjal Sharma

TMC delegation stopped at Silchar airport

According to NDTV reports, the TMC delegation has been stopped at the airport itself.

APW President Abhijeet Sarma to meet Assam DGP at 4.30 pm today

Assam Public Works (APW) President Abhijeet Sarma will meet with DGP Kuladhar Saikia regarding the visit of TMC delegation to Assam at 4.30 pm today. The meeting is also to discuss Mamanta Banerjee’s recent comments on the Assam NRC issue.Pranjal Sharma

TMC delegation lands in Silchar; could be detained inside airport

The flight carrying the TMC delegation has landed at the Silchar airport.The delegation is led by West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim and comprises of 6 MPs and a woman MLA. Local reports say that they may be detained inside the airport as a precautionary measure.