Sushmita Dev’s support for Citizenship Bill exposes Congress’ dual standard

Guwahati, January 10, 2019:

At a time when whole of Assam is seeking support from across the state and its people from the evils of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, Congress MP from Silchar and President of All India Mahila Congress, Sushmita Dev’s support towards implementing the Bill has drawn much ire and has sent the Congress party into frenzy.

While Dev has always been vocal in her support for the Bill, a letter from her to Rajendra Agrawal, the Chairperson of Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) dated January 4, 2019 has definitely put the Congress party in bad light at a time when Congress Rajya Sabha MPs from Assam, including APCC president Ripun Bora and senior party leader Bhubaneswar Kalita have opposed the Bill in the Upper House of the Parliament on Wednesday.

[caption id="attachment_21019" align="alignnone" width="660"] Sushmita Dev's letter[/caption]

In her letter to Rajendra Agrawal, she urged the JPC Chairperson to grant unconditional citizenship to all persons of Indian origin who entered the Indian Territory up to December 31, 2014. She further suggested that, “Persons migrated into Assam, who had their names in the electoral roll as updated in the year 2014 in respect of Parliamentary Constituencies in the State of Assam, shall not be required to prove their identity as Citizens of India or treated as illegal migrants under any law for the time being in force.”

“Persons who have migrated to India on account of religious, social or any other form of persecution or civil disturbance or fear of such persecution or disturbance shall not be treated as illegal migrants for the purpose of this Act”, she further stated in the letter.

Unable to control one of their most prominent leaders from the region in this hour of need definitely exposes the Congress party’s dual stand and standard on the Citizenship Bill as Assamese people are once again betrayed by their own.