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BJP is trying to create unrest in Assam through citizenship bill: Congress MP Sushmita Dev

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A member of the parliamentary panel that held consultations on the bill, Dev says BJP has little idea about ethnic communities in the northeast.

New Delhi: The BJP is trying to create unrest in Assam through the controversial citizenship amendment bill, Congress MP from the state Sushmita Dev has alleged.

The bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to certain minority communities such as Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, an issue that has already sparked a huge backlash in Assam, which shares borders with one of these countries.

Asom Sattra Mahasabha, an apex body of Vaishnavite monasteries, has come under fire from the civil society in the state for allegedly backing the proposed amendment of the Citizenship Act 1955 before a joint parliamentary committee in Delhi.

Dev, a member of the committee that held consultations with various Assam-based groups last week, told ThePrint that the bill has exposed how much knowledge and regard the BJP has for ethnic communities in the northeast.

“They have reopened the old wounds. The BJP wanting to grant refuge to Hindu Bengalis is creating a divide in the community on religious lines without offering any constitutional solutions,” she said.

“Bangladesh is not going to accept Hindu migrants who have fled because of alleged religious persecution,” Dev said.

“Bengalis will not be happy because they’ll not get citizenship nor will the Assamese since Bengalis will continue to live in Assam,” she added.

Minister of state (home affairs) Kiren Rijiju declined to comment on what is seen as the stiff opposition to the bill, first introduced by him, in the Lok Sabha.

The bill contradicts the 1985 Assam Accord, which clearly states that illegal immigrants coming from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971, would be deported.

Bone of contention 

At least 15 organisations, including the influential All Assam Students’ Union which was one of signatories of the Assam Accord, opposed the bill before the committee. Among the political parties, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a BJP ally in the state, as well as the Congress have criticised the Sattra Mahasabha for allegedly trying to communalise the whole issue.

The deposition undersigned by the ASA general secretary Kusum Kumar Mahanta, a copy of which is available with ThePrint, claims that the illegal migration of Muslim Bangladeshis have adversely affected the “culture, economy and social status” of the state.

The letter signed by Kusum Kumar Mahanta who was recently expelled from his position as general secretary of Asom Sattra Mahasabha

Following the outrage, Mahanta told the media that the memorandum he presented was his personal opinion. However, in a core committee meeting held Saturday, he was expelled from his position. BJP MP Bijoya Chakraborty has reportedly come out in support of the Mahasabha, saying that Bangladeshi Muslims pose a bigger threat to Assam than the Bangladeshi Hindus.

Despite repeated attempts, Jitendra Nath Pradhan, president of the Mahasabha, could not be reached for his comment.

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