HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Aug 13: The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) on Wednesday staged sit-in demonstrations across several districts of Assam, reiterating its long-standing demand for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in the state and opposing recent government directives under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The protests were held in Nagaon, Dibrugarh, Biswanath and Jorhat as part of a state-wide agitation.
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In Nagaon, the three-hour protest was led by district president Prabal Sarma and general secretary Hemanta Das, who urged chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to refrain from dividing the people of Assam on religious lines.
Protesters demanded the full implementation of the Assam Accord, updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and scrapping of the CAA.
Several district and central committee leaders, including Pragjyotish Bonia, Gitartha Das and Devashish Das, along with Anchalik unit office-bearers, took part in the demonstration.
In Dibrugarh, AJYCP members gathered at Chowkidingee, raising concerns over the influx of migrants from other states, which they said threatened indigenous rights.
Leaders stressed that the ILP system—already in force in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur—was the only foolproof mechanism to safeguard the interests of the indigenous population.
At Biswanath Chariali, demonstrators assembled in front of the UCO Bank, demanding immediate implementation of ILP and cancellation of the notification on citizenship under the CAA.
The protest, attended by district president Diganta Barua, central committee joint secretary Kamaljit Dutta, and Nasir Ahmed, concluded with the submission of a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the Biswanath Deputy Commissioner.
In Jorhat, AJYCP members staged a sit-in in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, protesting against the government’s decision to withdraw cases pending in Foreigners’ Tribunals against illegal non-Muslim Bangladeshi immigrants who entered Assam before December 31, 2014, under the CAA, 2019.
Led by district president Ashimjyoti Saikia and general secretary Biswajit Gayan, the protesters termed the move a violation of the Assam Accord and the Indian Constitution, and a threat to the culture, language and literature of the indigenous population. They called on the public to oppose the decision and submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister via the Jorhat DC office.
Across all locations, AJYCP leaders reiterated that there should be no religious criteria in determining the legality of immigrants, maintaining that anyone from Bangladesh—whether Hindu or Muslim—entering Assam after the March 24, 1971 cut-off date should be deported.
