State Employees to Join Protests in Assam, Anti-CAB Stir Will Continue Says AASU

GUWAHATI: Employees of the Assam government will cease work on December 18 in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. In a statement the Sadou asam Karmachari Parishad (SAKP) President Basab Kalita said that all employees of the state government will not attend office on the date. He told the Press Trust of India, "we have opposed the Bill since the beginning and will continue to do so till the Act is revoked," he said. When members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee.”

The internet services will remain suspended for another 24 hours, if not more. No major violence was reported Saturday, although the protests continued through the state. Curfew remains in place, although relaxed briefly in Guwahati and Dibrugarh. However, the situation is far from normal with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelling his India and Assam visit.

All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the influential students’ body which is leading anti-CAB movement in the state along with other organizations has appealed to the people to stay away from violence during the protest rallies.

“This protest against the CAB will continue till the government listen to our demands. But the protests should not be violent. Let us be united and fight for the people,”AASU chief adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya said.

On Saturday, students from different colleges staged peaceful protest demonstrations in Guwahati and other parts of the state.

On Sunday artists from across Assam will stage a musical protest in Guwahati against the CAB. The students are also approaching the courts against the Act.

The police has arrested 85 persons, and over a 1000 have been detained.After 48 hours of a total clampdown people came out when curfew was relaxed to purchase essential commodities. Long queues could be seen outside the petrol pumps in Guwahati. Curfew was reimposed from 5pm again. Other districts under curfew are Sonitpur, Dibruarg, Tinsukia, Jorhat and Golaghat.

Meanwhile, the BJP MLAs and leaders continued to face public fury across the state on Saturday with many not venturing out of their homes.

AASU hadspearheaded the six-year long agitation known as Assam Agitation to drive out illegal migrants from Assam in the 1980s.

As per the Assam Accord which was signed after the Assam Agitation that left hundreds dead and entire villages destroyed, the cutoff date to detect the illegal citizens was fixed as March 241971 irrespective of religion, caste and creed.

CAB has changed this completely by allowing non-Muslim migrants who have come here before December 31 2014, to avail citizenship.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had to cancel his visit to the North East because of the widespread protests.