Citizenship Bill, 2016
Axom Miya (Axomiya) Parishad (AMP) on Monday organized a mass demonstration here against the Centre’s bid to pass the controversial Citizenship Bill, 2016

Axom Miya (Axomiya) Parishad (AMP) on Monday organized a mass demonstration here against the Centre’s bid to pass the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the alleged harassment to the innocent people in the name of D voter.

Speaking at the programme, which was attended by thousands of people, AMP president MZ Hazarika said government on one hand has kept Indian citizens in detention camps on suspicion being foreigners; on the other hand the same government has handed over the body of a person, who died during his stay in detention camp, to his family members.

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He demanded immediate release of all those persons who have been tagged as D voter and made to stay in detention camps. There are six detention camps in Assam.

Assam parliamentary affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary had said in the Assembly in February that the state has 1, 25,333 D-voters.

The Election Commission, during an intensive revision of electoral rolls in 1997, had ordered that the letter “D” be written against the names of voters who fail to provide citizenship proof and their cases were referred to foreigners’ tribunals in the state. The D-voters have been barred from casting votes since then.

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Axom Xahitya Xabha (AXX) president Paramananda Rajbongshi addressing the gathering said from the very beginning, AXX has been opposing the proposed Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2016 as it violates the 1985 Assam Accord.

The AXX president urged different organizations and political leaders of the state to desist from making inflammatory remarks and hate speech which may derail the NRC update process which is going on in the state.

 

Mukesh Kr Singh is Northeast Now Correspondent in Dhubri. He can be reached at: [email protected]