Guwahati: A year after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the movement against the controversial act gained momentum as people from different walks of life took to the streets in northeastern states of India on Friday.
Different students' organizations under the banner of North East Students Organization (NESO) on Friday observed a "Black Day" shouting slogans and taking out protest rallies in different parts of the region opposing the BJP government's move to pass the CAA.
On December 11, 2019, thousands of people took to the streets in Assam's capital town Guwahati shouting slogans opposing the controversial Act, forcing the police to resort to firing to disperse the protesting people which had left five civilians dead including a minor boy, Sam Stafford.
Along with Sam, 19-year-old Dipanjal Das, Abdul Momin, Iswar Nayak, and Ajijul Haque also died due to police firing at different parts of the state, leading to a nationwide condemnation and protest against the CAA. A total of 25 people had lost their lives across the country while protesting against the CAA.
Different organizations in the northeastern states also called a Northeast Bandh on December 10 last year to protest against the act, which had drawn a total response.
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Although the movement against the CAA continued till February this year, the movement lost momentum due to the spread of COVID 19 and the social distancing protocols and lockdown imposed by the government. On Friday the NESO observed the day as Black Day and resolved to carry forward the movement against the CAA until it is repealed.
"Last year the Central government had passed the CAA against the wishes of the people of the northeast. Today all the seven states of the region have observed a Black Day and sent a strong message to the Central government that the people of Northeast would not accept CAA," said AASU Chief Adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya.
"The movement had lost its momentum for time being due to COVID, lockdown and other issues. As the lockdown has been withdrawn, now the seven states of the region will start the movement against the CAA once again. We are going to continue the movement in a non-violent and uninterrupted way until the CAA is repealed," said Bhattacharyya.
The senior AASU leader also took a dig at the BJP led government at the Centre and said that while the Central government had urged the farmers to continue movement against non-violent ways, it had not paid heed to the non-violent and peaceful protest of the people of the northeast so far.
