NESO to Re-Launch Agitation Against Citizenship Bill on Nov 18

Guwahati, November 2, 2019:

The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), a conglomeration of leading student organizations of Northeast Indian states on Friday gave the clarion call to launch mass agitations to prevent the passage of the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB).

It may be mentioned here that the student body had launched a prolonged agitation against the Bill earlier this year, at the end of which it lapsed at the upper house, after it had initially been passed in the Lok Sabha.

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This time, after returning to power, the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government has again resolved to enact the Bill, drawing condemnation from the volatile Northeastern region.

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NESO has accused that the government seeks to impose the CAB for "political benefits" as it will create a 'vote bank'. "On November 18, there will protests against the CAB in the state capitals of the region. The Centre should not impose the bill because it is against the interest of indigenous people of the northeast", said NESO Chairman Samuel Jyrwa.

The CAB is expected to be re-introduced in Parliament in November. Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed that through the CAB, the Narendra Modi government will ensure that persecuted religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who have taken shelter in India till December 31, 2014, are granted citizenship.

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