Firebrand Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader Akhil Gogoi is back into activism within 24 hours of his release from jail.
The KMSS leader on Thursday morning met his comrades particularly Kamal Medhi, who was his lieutenant in the crusade for safeguarding rights of indigenous people of Assam.
However, Medhi left the peasants’ body following a rift with Gogoi and joined active party politics. He is presently a member of the state unit of Aam Admi Party (AAP).
The reunion of Akhil Gogoi and Kamal Medhi took place at the venue of the citizens’ convention, Lakhidhar Bora Kshetra in Guwahati, on Thursday opposing Central Government’s move to grant citizenship to the ‘Hindu Bangladeshis’ by passing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
Gogoi walked out of Goalpara district jail after being lodged in prison for 105 days. He was accorded warm welcome by the KMSS activists and his supporters.
Gogoi was arrested by the Assam Police on charges of sedition on September 23, after he spoke at a public rally at Moran. On September 24, Gogoi was booked under the NSA.
The KMSS chief had challenged the detention order under the NSA and the Gauhati High Court quashed the detention order after hearing the petition filed by Gogoi’s counsel.
However, immediately after the High Court’s order, the Goalpara police arrested Gogoi and sent him to judicial custody.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Goalpara after hearing the case on Tuesday granted bail to Gogoi.
He also vowed to launch a massive movement against the Centre’s move to grant citizenship to the ‘Hindu Bangladeshis’ by passing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
“The BJP wants to settle the Hindu Bangladeshis in Assam by amending the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. However, we are not going to tolerate any Bangladeshis who had entered the state after March 25, 1971. We are going to oppose the move to pass the Citizenship Amendment Bill,” Akhil said.
Earlier, a number of leading intellectuals have appealed to the people of the State to resist the proposed move of the Union government to grant citizenship to post-1971 Hindu migrants from the neighbouring countries.
The signatories to the appeal include Dr Hiren Gohain, Prof Udayaditya Bharali, Dr Apurba Kumar Baruah, Dr Dilip Bora, Abdul Mannan and Dr Manorama Sarma, among others.