The Guwahati police issued a legal notice to the organisations which have called for a hartal (strike) in Assam to protest against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The 16-party United Opposition Forum, Assam, (UOFA) announced a statewide hartal on Tuesday, besides taking up other agitational programmes in a phased manner.

On Monday, the Centre announced the implementation of the CAA 2019, a move that comes four years after the law was passed by Parliament and paved the way for citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. With this, the Centre will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from the three countries.

Soon after the Centre announced the implementation of the CAA, protests erupted across Assam with Opposition flaying the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre.

In a stern warning to the agitating parties, the Guwahati Police said, “Any damage to public/ private property including Railway and National Highway properties or injury to any citizen caused due to ‘Sarbatmak Hartal’, legal action under appropriate provisions of law including Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 will be initiated against you and the total cost of damage to public and private properties will be recovered from you and your Organization.”

Assam had witnessed violent protests against the legislation in December 2019 that had resulted in five deaths in police action. There’s fear among many indigenous groups that once the CAA is implemented, it will lead to an influx of illegal immigrants to the state, especially from Bangladesh.

Protest across Assam

The AASU and 30 indigenous non-political organisations burnt copies of the CAA and organised protest rallies in different parts of the state, including Guwahati, Kamrup, Barpeta, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Dibrugarh, Golaghat and Tezpur.

“We won’t accept the CAA in any manner and the peaceful, non-violent and democratic protests against this legislation which is harmful for the people of Assam will continue and intensify in coming days,” AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya told HT.

“There will be a torchlight rally across Assam on Tuesday evening and other different modes of protest in the coming days. We have already applied to file a petition in the Supreme Court opposing the CAA,” Bhattacharya said.

On Saturday, opposition parties had staged a sit-in demonstration at Kaliabor during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Assam. The parties are planning to call a statewide bandh the day after CAA is officially notified and even ‘gherao’ the state secretariat.

Assam CM’s warning

On Sunday, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had warned that political parties could lose their registrations if they call for bandhs (strikes) which are in violation of court orders. He said those opposing the CAA should approach the Supreme Court for redressal of their grievance and protests on streets don’t serve a purpose as the law has already been enacted.

“Everyone has a right to protest, but if a political party disobeys a court order, its registration may be cancelled,” Sarma said.

Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi, who had spent 567 days in jail for his alleged role in the 2019 anti-CAA agitation before a Special NIA Court cleared him of all charges, led a protest rally in Golaghat district.

The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), which was formed after the anti-CAA movement in the state in 2019-20, staged protests in different parts of the state.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also staged a protest in front of their state office, around two kilometres from the state secretariat in Guwahati.

Pointing out that the Sixth Scheduled areas and states with provisions for Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the North East have been exempted from CAA, Bhattacharjya told news agency PTI, “Our question is, if something is bad for some parts of NE, how can it be good for the other parts. In Assam too, in eight districts it will not be enforced.”

Meanwhile, BJP senior spokesperson Rupam Goswami welcomed the notification of the rules of the CAA as “this was much awaited”.

“There was a misinformation campaign by the opposition that crores of Hindus from Bangladesh would enter Assam after the law was passed by Parliament, but nothing of that sort has happened,” Goswami said.

AIUDF MLA Ashraful Hussain told PTI that the BJP has implemented the CA before the Lok Sabha polls as it is ”greedy for Bangladeshi Hindu votes”.

(With inputs from Utpal Parashar in Guwahati)