GUWAHATI, Dec 9: NEDA convener and Assam Finance, Health and PWD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has once again come out strongly in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill saying the legislation that has sparked mass protests across Assam is “a must for us if we are to ensure that 17 assembly constituencies do not go out of the hands of Asomiyas”.
Reiterating that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will help in safeguarding the interests of indigenous people, Sarma said the cut-off date for people to be eligible for citizenship under the bill will be Dec 2014.
The Assam Finance Minister was speaking at an organizational meeting of newly-appointed BJP District and Mandal presidents at the Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati today.
“I want to reassure everyone that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will not harm us but it’s a must for us if we are to keep 17 legislative assembly constituencies with the Assamese people. The cut-off date for people to be eligible for citizenship under the bill will be Dec 2014. I have said it before and I would like to reiterate it once again,” Sarma said.
Taking potshots at organizations opposing the proposed legislation, Himanta Biswa Sarma questioned as to why there were no protests when the number of foreigners left out of the final NRC had come down to just 16 lakh while it was believed that the actual number was was much more.
“Samujjal Bhattacharya himself had said there are 70 lakh illegal Bangladeshis in Assam when he was asked about the numbers by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. But how many Bangladeshis Muslims were excluded from the NRC? Just 16 lakh! So why were there no protests at that time?” Himanta Biswa Sarma questioned.
“Why were there no protests outside the residence of Prateek Hazela who left Assam after including Bangladeshi nationals in the NRC,” he continued.
“Our fight will continue. We will not allow Badruddin Ajmal to become chief minister of Assam,” the NEDA convener added.
Sarma said it has been due to India’s secular fabric that Muslims have never been forced to leave the country while religious minority communities are facing oppression in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
