by Bhupen Goswami 

Guwahati : Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while launching the Assam Assembly election campaign, warned the people of Assam that the agitation would not make any difference, only the number of martyrs would increase.

Shah’s statement has naturally hurt the Assamese society and various civil society organisations have reacted sharply to it. The All Assam Students Union (AASU), the Assam Ethnicistic Youth Students ‘ Council (Azaryukat) and the Assam Ethnic Council (AJP) have strongly criticised the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in which he had said that the agitation hampers the process of development. In a joint statement, AASU president Dipank Kumar Nath and general secretary Shanker Jyoti Baruva said, “The Union Home Minister has introduced his fascist mindset by making such derogatory remarks against the Assam movement and the martyrs of Assam. Members of the All Assam Students Union, Amsom Jatiyatadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) today burnt the statue of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in protest against the alleged derogatory remarks made by Shah on the martyrs of the Assam movement during his speech in Guwahati on Saturday.

The AJYCP protestors burnt the statue of the Union Home Minister in the Garali area in Jorhat while holding the ornamental plates and shouting slogans against Shah and the BJP. The protestors led by Jorhat City Unit President (in-charge) Devjit Barua and general secretary Gautam Das said that no humiliation of the martyrs of Assam will be tolerated and the people of the state will always fight for their rights and against those who work in the interest of Assamese society. The protestors also gave the BJP a slogan for the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, which he said is against the interests of the indigenous people of the state.

The youth of Assam said that after the formation of the government, BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi has handed over Indian land to Bangladesh. The BJP, after coming to power in the centre and Assam, supported the BJP on major river-tying projects, which the BJP had initially opposed, the leaders of the AASU said, “The central government has so far not given any power to the people of Assam without agitating. Why did the Union Home Minister not say a single word regarding the implementation of the recommendations made by the High Level Committee constituted by the Modi government? Many people have been martyred in every non-violent democratic movement launched on behalf of the people of Assam. Even in the anti-CAA movement, five persons were martyred in Assam last year. He further said, “he wants to cut the crop of votes in the West Bengal assembly elections by fire in Assam.

If the Centre implements the CAA, the people of Assam will be on the streets as it was on December 11, 2019. We will not allow implementation of CAA in Assam. ‘ “Making such remarks, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has behaved against democratic values and expressed his intention to deprive people of the rights of peaceful and democratic movement,” AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi told the media. They have ridiculed the sacrifices of the martyrs and the people of the state.