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PM Modi to Assam protesters: No one can take away your rights
The protests against Citizenship Amendment Bill have been getting violent in northeast India.
Guwahati: Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets yesterday and clashed with the police opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. The state police chief said that a curfew in Guwahati that was imposed since last evening will be extended indefinitely.
Army forces have been deployed in Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts. Internet services were suspended in ten Assam districts at 7 pm last evening.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal's home in Dibrugarh was attacked. The leader was also stranded for some time at the Guwahati airport on his return from Tezpur due to the protests. A railway station in Chabua (Dibrugarh) was set ablaze by protesters late in the night. Another station in Tinsukia district was also torched, as per official reports.
Student leaders said many protesters were injured in police action in front of the secretariat. According to unverified sources, hundreds have been detained in Guwahati and other places. Gauhati and Dibrugarh Universities have postponed all examinations scheduled till December 14. Classes in most universities and colleges were not held as the students were protesting. Schools saw abysmal attendance too.
Amid the violent protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to assure the Assamese protesters that "no one can take away your rights, unique identity and beautiful culture. The Central Government and I are totally committed to constitutionally safeguard the political, linguistic, cultural and land rights of the Assamese people as per the spirit of Clause 6."
All flights from Kolkata in West Bengal to Assam's Dibrugarh sector have been cancelled, a Kolkata airport official said. The domestic carrier IndiGo said flights to and from Dibrugarh, Assam, have been cancelled today. It's asking passengers to either get a refund or choose an alternate flight.
Protesters in Guwahati have been defying the indefinite curfew that was imposed yesterday: people were seen on the roads at night despite the order. The Assam Student's Union has called a protest at 11 am, and the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti has also appealed to the public to join a peaceful protest. The Army, meanwhile, conducted a flag march in Guwahati this morning.
Homes of BJP and Asom Gana Parishad leaders have been attacked in several parts of Assam.
