'Indigenous Organizations Receive Funding from Bangladeshi Radical Groups': MLA Shiladitya Dev

Guwahati, June 13, 2019:

Controversial Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician Shiladitya Dev launched into a tirade against certain "leftist intellectuals" and "indigenous leaders" of the state of Assam who had jointly led the mass movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

In an exclusive interation with Inside Northeast, he Hojai MLA launched a scathing attack at these leaders and their "struggle" against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. Shiladitya, in fact, accused these leaders of taking bribes from Bangladeshi fundamentalists and argued that their sole cause is to aid the influx of illegal Bangladeshis into Assamese soil.

Belittling the struggle of the intellectuals who had spoken up against the Bill, Dev accused that their resentment for the Bill did not originate from any genuine concern for the Assamese people, but rather, they ar the puppets of Islamic fundamentalist organizations.

"Various Muslim organizations -- based in Bangladesh and Pakistan -- are opposing the Bill. They are Islamic fundamentalist groups, and they are using leftist minded intellectuals to create a nuisance in the society. If the Bill is passed, the worst sufferers will be Muslims coming from Bangladesh", he said.

He alleged that the turmoil caused by the Bill is the result of the "designs" of fundamentalist groups dwelling in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

He also insinuated that the indigenous organizations are slowly becoming 'Islamic organizations'. "Look at the names of their district Presidents, you will see what I mean", he said.

Shiladitya Dev further slammed the indigenous organizations for not raising a voice against genuine concerns of the people, but creating a ruckus over the Bill. "The Assamese people have clearly understood that the Indigenous Organizations are no longer indigenous and are only meant for Bangladeshis coming to Assam and, they are receiving funding from such organizations in Bangladesh", he said.

Speaking to Inside Northeast, All Assam Students' Union Leader Sammujjal Bhattacharya had called the Bill "an an insult to the indigenous people of Assam and North East and we refuse to accept it."

Meanwhile, Krishak Mukti Sngram Samiti (KMSS) leader Akhil Gogoi, along with 70 other indigenous organizations, took to the streets of Delhi where some indigenous leaders also staged a naked protest in a historic first.

Dev said that the Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha, will be coming again and there will be legislation which will "protect" the Hindus facing "persecution" in neighboring countries.

He also stated that the number of Bangla speaking people who are yet to get citizenship is negligible (about 2% of the total population of Hindu Bengalis dwelling in Assam) and stated that the issue will be "resolved in time."

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