TMC joins JD-U in opposing Citizenship Bill in Parliament

Guwahati: After the Janata Dal (United), the Trinamul Congress (TMC) on Wednesday assured a delegation of Northeast students opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that it will firmly oppose the contentious legislation which proposes to grant citizenship to persecuted non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

A delegation of the All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) and North East Students’ Organization (Neso) met senior Trinamul leader and Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy in New Delhi. Neso chairman Samuel Jyrwa, Aasu chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya, president Dipanka Kumar Nath and general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi were part of the delegation that met Mr Roy. During the meeting, Mr Roy assured the delegation that the Mamata Banerjee-led party will also oppose the Bill in Parliament.

“Trinamool Congress had earlier opposed the citizenship bill and this time too our party will firmly oppose the proposed legislation, both inside and outside Parliament,” Mr Roy told the Aasu-Neso delegation, which has been camping in New Delhi since last week to garner support against the bill.

Aasu president Dipanka Kumar Nath said, “With support from the national and regional parties, we are hopeful that the Citizenship Bill will be blocked this time as well. It’s the duty of national and regional political parties to save the indigenous tribes and communities of Assam and the northeast from illegal influx of Bangladeshi migrants, which has threatened our culture, identity and existence.”

Meanwhile, Centre also reviewed the security situation in the Northeastern states that have witnessed protests in the past few weeks over the move to amend the CAB.

Heads of state intelligence agencies of all Northeastern states, Assam Rifles and paramilitary forces attended the review meeting, which was chaired by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

The meeting, convened by the National Security Council Secretariat, which is headed by Mr Doval, analysed the intelligence inputs coming from the ground with regard to Opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

Security sources said that top officials gave detailed presentations on the findings of their respective organisations about the protests and people’s approach towards the proposed legislation.

The CAB was an election promise of the BJP during the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. A large section of people and organisations in the Northeast are opposing the Bill, saying it will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985.