Protestors damage a vehicle during a strike called in Guwahati against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 on January 8. (PTI Photo)
6 youths hurt in police firing in Tripura, normal life hit in Mizoram, Manipur
Morung Express News
Dimapur | January 8
The region wide bandh called by the North East Students Organisation (NESO) in the Northeastern states on Tuesday in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill experienced total shutdown and stray incidents.
Political parties in the North-East, especially regional outfits, allege that the Bill is an attempt to make illegal migrants eligible for Indian citizenship on the basis of religion.
As reported in the IANS, Assam witnessed a total shutdown on Tuesday even as strike supporters ransacked a BJP office in Dibrugarh town. Police and security forces deployed in Dibrugarh had to fire gunshots in the air and also tear gas to disperse a mob that went unruly in the town, which is home to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Police said the situation turned unruly suddenly after a group of people shouting slogans against the Bill gathered in front of the BJP office in Amolapatty in Dibrugarh and ransacked it.
The protesters also stoned the security forces, injuring three policemen including Additional Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh Panesar.
Hundreds took to the streets in different places of Assam to enforce the shutdown leading to stray incidents.
Strike supporters burnt tyres in many areas blocking movement of vehicular traffic. At some places, the strike supporters damaged plying vehicles.
In Manipur, all educational institutes and public facilities wore a deserted look. Buses, trucks and other commercial vehicles went off the roads. Shops and businesses were shut. Some strike supporters blocked vehicular movement in some areas.
Responding to the NESO strike, Manjit Sarangthem, President of the All Manipur Students Union (AMSU), said "The opening of the floodgate to the minorities in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will result in swamping the indigenous people in the northeastern region.
Sarangthem warned that the AMSU will launch various forms of agitations if the state's Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government does nothing tangible to protect the indigenous peoples. Security steps were beefed up near all BJP offices in Manipur.
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Monday had alleged that the Bill was against the principle of secularism and if passed, would be "harmful" to states such as Mizoram where there are many illegal Buddhist migrants from Bangladesh.
"Six tribal youths while demonstrating against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill turned violent at Madhab Bari in western Tripura. CRPF troopers after being unable to control the mob opened fire injuring six tribal youths, two of them seriously," said a police officer.
A jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force was also injured following an attack by agitators, who also burnt down at least 22 shops in the area.
The police said the CRPF and Tripura State Rifles jawans resorted to lathi charge and burst teargas shells to bring the situation under control before the firing.
Two tribal parties - Indigenous People's Front of Tripura and Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura strongly opposing the Citizenship Bill - are yet to confirm the identity of the injured youths.
Two critically injured tribal youths shifted to the government-run Gobinda Ballav Panth Medical College and Hospital here.
Senior police officer along with large contingent of security forces are camping in the areas, 20 km north of Agartala.
Para-Military Assam Rifles had held a flag march in the mixed populated areas.
Ruling BJP's ally IPFT's Assistant General Secretary Mangal Debbarma told IANS that they have extended moral support to the NESO's shutdown in the northeastern region comprising seven states, excluding Sikkim.
"We did not organise any movement on Tuesday as part of the opposition to the Citizenship Bill," said Debbarma, also the IPFT's chief spokesman.
The IPFT is also a member of Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance NEDA (North East Democratic Alliance), convener of which is BJP-led Assam government's powerful minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Mahanta dares BJP to seek fresh mandate
A day after regional Asom Gana Parishad quit the BJP-led alliance, senior AGP leader and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said on Tuesday the BJP had no moral right to be in power and dared it to seek a fresh mandate.
"The BJP had a pre-poll alliance with us before the 2016 Assembly polls. The Assam people voted for the BJP-AGP alliance, not the BJP alone. So, as the AGP has quit the alliance, the BJP has no moral right to be in power and they should seek a fresh mandate," said Mahanta.
"The political alliance has some set rules. It is the BJP which is responsible for AGP's quitting the alliance and they (BJP) should step down immediately," said the former chief Minister.
Slamming the saffron party over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, Mahanta also asked the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre to spell out the number of Hindus, Sikhs, Christian and Buddhists who were persecuted in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and have come to India.
"The NDA government must give a list of such people before pressing for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 in Parliament," Mahanta said. He said the NDA government was hasty in granting ST status to six communities in Assam as a political ploy ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
"Why has the Central government not done anything in the last four years on the issue? Why are they taking up the matter ahead of the Lok Sabha polls?" Mahanta asked.
He hailed the regional party's decision to come out of the alliance and said it was for the sake of the people of Assam.
Sangma government says 'no' to Citizenship Bill
The BJP-backed Sangma government in Meghalaya had said that it will not support the controversial Citizenship Bill that seeks to give citizenship to illegal migrants of six religious minority groups from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Almost all government establishments and educational institutions remained closed across the state. Public transport went off the roads. "Thin attendance was recorded in government offices," an official said.
NESO supporters blocked roads with boulders and burnt tyres in several parts of the state. There were also reports of some vehicles being vandalized.
National Highway No. 40 and 44, the lifeline for landlocked Mizoram, Tripura and parts of Manipur and Assam, were also affected by the shutdown.
"There is no confusion about our stand. We were the first state government and cabinet to come out with an official resolution that we are against the bill," Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma told journalists on Monday night.
Asked if the National People's Party will put out of the BJP-led NDA government, the NPP Chief said: "We have been very clear to the NDA that this is something we will not support. We will see when the time comes, but as of now, we have made our stand clear that we are not supporting the Bill."