Citizenship Amendment Bill against Assam Accord: AASU

Accusing the Centre of introducing a "patently communal" Bill, the All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Tuesday said the Centre must withdraw the Citizenship Amendment Bill at the earliest.

Stating that the Bill "strikes at the secular character of the Preamble", the students body said that the Bill also violates the Assam Accord.

"The Accord clearly laid out the principle that all the Bangladeshis are to be detected irrespective of their religion. The Union government wants to keep the names of the Hindu Bangladeshis in the updated NRC to fulfill their communal design. AASU makes it clear that Assam will NEVER accept the communal and unconstitutional Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 at the cost of the Assam Accord (sic)," said a statement released by AASU present Dipanka Nath and general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi.

The student body also said while the exercise for the National Register of Citizens was being updated, the Centre introduced the Bill which is under scrutiny of a joint parliamentary committee. "Only pro-Bangladeshi lobbies of the state are supporting the Bill," read the statement.

Calling the exercise of updating the NRC a transparent one under judicial review, the students' body also said the process is not directed against any community, language or religion. "AASU is not against any religion or language. AASU is only against the illegal presence of Bangladeshis, Hindus or Muslims," it said.