Protests rocked different parts of Assam on Wednesday even after BJP admitted its mistake in terming the Northeastern people ‘immigrant’ in its vision document, which was released ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls. Different civil society organisations and student unions launched protests demonstrations and protest rallies and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to register their protest against the saffron party’s move to term the Northeastern as ‘immigrant’.
While the All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) held a torch light rally across the district headquarters in Assam on Wednesday evening to protest against the move, other organisation like Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Students Federation of India (SFI) and Asom Gana Parishad’s youth wing Asom Yuva Parishad took out protest rallies and burnt effigies of the Prime Minister to protest against the move.
The KMSS held a sit in demonstration at the Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati on Wednesday leading to severe traffic congestion across the city for about two hours. The NSUI on the other hand registered their protest by burning the flag of the saffron party before the party headquarters Vajpayee Bhavan at Hengerabari area in the city.
“Terming the people of northeast ‘immigrant’ in New Delhi and other places of India is a crime. Assam is a part of India and everyone must respect that. The party must tender an unconditional apology to the people of Assam and northeast for committing such a blunder,” said All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya.
“This proves that there is no difference between the BJP and the Congress. The BJP leaders including the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh had promised lot of things to the people in the region before the lok Sabha polls. However, they have failed to keep their promises and now terming the people as immigrant is an unpardonable crime,” said Bhattacharyya while adding that the party will see the reaction from people over this in the days to come.
“This is the ultimate insult to the people of Assam and northeast. How can the BJP treat the northeasterners as foreignersIJ The word ‘immigrant’ means the process of migration from one sovereign nation to another sovereign nation. So, how can they call the students from the northeast region as ‘immigrant’IJ This has exposed the real nature of the saffron party,” said Akhil Gogoi.
“The people of Assam had responded positively towards the BJP and helped the saffron party win seven seats in the last lok Sabha polls in Assam. However, this is the way the party has treated the people’s love to them,” Akhil said.
President of the Assam’s regional political party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Atul Bora has also condemned the BJP’s vision document and said that this has once again vindicated the party’s stand that there is no difference between the Congress and the BJP and that these national political parties cannot do any good to the people of the region.