By Bhupen Goswami  (PNI)

Guwahati : After members of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) staged a naked protest at New Delhi on Monday , members of Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) too shaved off their head on the spot and staged a naked protest in Tinsukia against the center proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016. The protest has been launched as the Joint Parliamentary Committtee (JPC) is set to submit its final report on the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in front of the House around 12 PM. The protest is demanding the cancellation of the Citizenship Bill. Massive protests erupted across the state after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Silchar visit had stated in his speech that Cab will be implemented this Parliament session. It may be noted that no organisation from Assam had to stage a naked protest in the national capital earlier. On other Hand Student organizations and indigenous groups across northeast have called for an 11-hour ‘bandh’ in seven states of the region on January 8 in protest against the Centre’s move to table the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in parliament. The announcement of the strike came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at a rally in Assam’s Silchar on Friday about his government’s desire to go ahead with the Bill despite opposition from the region.

There’s fear among a sizeable section in northeast that, if the Bill, which seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists and Jains from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, is passed, it would reduce the indigenous population in the region to minority.“This design by the government of India is very dangerous as it will reduce the indigenous peoples of the northeast to a minority,” said a statement issued by Samuel Jyrwa, president of North East Students’ Organisation (NESO). The umbrella students’ body, which comprises student organizations from seven states in the region and has been opposing the Bill, has supported the ‘bandh’ call on January 8.“NESO warns the government of India not to play with the future of the indigenous peoples of northeast for vote bank politics. Northeast is not a dumping ground for illegal migrants,” Jyrwa added. All Assam Students Union (AASU), the state’s prominent student body which led a six year agitation from 1979 to 1985 against illegal Bangladeshis, and 30 other indigenous bodies from the state have also sought support from the public for the January 8 ‘bandh’. To protest against the Bill, Monday will be observed as Black Day across Assam and copies of the Bill burnt. This will be followed by the ‘bandh’ from 5:00 am to 4:00 pm on January 8.