The 12-hour Assam bandh called by over 60 organisations against the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 on Tuesday drew total response in the State except in four districts of Barak Valley despite the BJP-led Government’s all-out efforts to foil the bandh.
While most of the Government offices in Assam’s Capital town Guwahati recorded a thin attendance, most of the commercial establishments across the State remained closed.
Vehicular traffic remained off the road in most of the districts barring a few buses run by the State-owned Assam State Transport corporation(ASTC).
In most of the places bandh supporters blocked roads by burning tyres and also attacked buses and other vehicles plying on the road for violating the bandh.
The Assam Government on Monday sent strict instructions to the Government employees to attend the offices and threatened that punitive action will be taken against those who fail to attend the offices on Tuesday.
The Government had also threatened to cancel trade license if the commercial establishment s shut their shutters during the bandh hours.
Assam BJP president Ranjit Kumar Dass said that the bandh drew response only in some minority dominated areas.
Farmers’ leader Akhil Gogoi thanked the people of Assam for making it a success and hoped that the BJP led Government in Assam takes a lesson from the people’s’ support to the bandh.
Assam’s regional political party Asom Gana Parishad also took out a massive rally in Guwahati against the Citizenship Amendment Bill,2016 and appealed The BJP led NDA government to throw the Bill to dustbin.
The Assam Accord is Gita, Bible and Quran for us and I want to ask the BJP leadership from here today to make clear whether they respect the Assam Accord or not?
“I want to ask the BJP leadership to make clear if they respect the blood of martyrs of the Assam movement who has laid down their lives for the sake of Assam and indigenous people?,” said Bora while addressing the rally that covered from Latasil playground in Guwahati to Chandmari area.
The AGP is a partner of the BJP-led alliance Government and the party has three Ministers in the Cabinet.