Union Minister of State for Railway, Rajen Gohain faced ire in different parts of Assam for equating the ‘Hindu Bangladeshis’ with the ‘Ahoms’.
The All Tai Ahom Students’ Union (Atasu) has termed the statement as ‘laughable’ and warned that they would launch a fresh movement against the conspiracy of the BJP leaders at the Centre and State to give citizenship to the Hindu Bangladeshis from Bangladesh in Assam.
Gohain while speaking at a public meeting recently equated the ‘Hindu Bangladeshis’ with the ‘Ahoms’ and said that citizenship should be given to Hindu Bangladeshis and that they would also assimilate with the locals as Ahoms did over the years.
“This is very shameful and not acceptable to the people of Assam. Perhaps Rajen Gohain had not read history and so he is making such kinds of statements. There was no Assamese race as a whole when first Ahom king Sukhafa arrived in Assam in 1228 AD,” said Atasu president, Nitul Buragohain on Wednesday while expressing their deep anguish.
The students’ body had also held protest demonstrations in different parts of the state opposing the statement of Gohain and burnt his effigies at Jorhat, Sivsagar, Demow, Dhemaji, Charaideu etc. The Atasu also warned him of launching a strong agitation against him if he dares to repeat the statement anywhere else.
It may be mentioned here that Gohain, who represents Nagaon lok Sabh constituency in Assam is a senior member of the saffron party. He has been retaining the Nagaon lok Sabha seat since 1999.
“Sukafa is the first one who united different tribes and inhabitants of this land and thus the Assamese race came into existence. As such, there cannot be any comparison between the Ahoms and Hindu Bengalis from Bangladesh and other countries,” he said adding that Gohain is trying to gain political benefit as his constituency has a sizable population of Hindu Bengali community.
“Ahead of the 2016 State Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the people of Assam that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh will be deported and so people voted BJP to power. They also assured to protest our lands and rights. But now the same party has been conspiring to give citizenship to illegal Bangladeshis and take away the rights of indigenous people of Assam,” he said adding that the Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal must make a statement and clear his stand on what Gohain commented.
The Atasu leader further reiterated that the students’ body don’t have any problem with those who came before March 25, 1971, which was agreed in the Assam Accord. “But those who came after that have to go,” he said.