Assam is on the edge as massive protests continue against Citizenship Amendment bill (CAB). Slogans raised, anti-CAB banners were raised, effigies were burnt by groups of protesters on street but soon, things went out of hand when a bus was torched by protesters near Janta Bhawan in Dispur on Wednesday.
District Magistrate of Dibrugarh ordered closure of liquor licensed premises from 4 pm on Wednesday for ‘preservation of public peace and tranquility’. On the other hand, mobile internet have been suspended for 24 hours in 10 districts of Assam – Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (Metro) and Kamrup.
And it doesn’t end there, 12 trains have been cancelled and 10 trains partially cancelled, on 12th and 13th December due to indefinite ‘Rail Roko’ by various organizations and associations, in Tinsukia division and Lumding division in Assam.
Guwahati police commissioner Deepak Kumar said that curfew has been imposed in the city and will remain imposed until normalcy is restored.
Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Citizenship Amendment bill in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Shah said that misinformation is being spread about the legislation that it is against the Muslims.
The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, excluding Muslims, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship. The Bill relaxes the requirement of residence in India from 11 years to six years for these migrants.