HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, April 8: GUWAHATI, April 8: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday took a jibe at those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and asserted that only one person has applied for citizenship under CAA rules in the state to date.
Sarma has been campaigning for BJP candidates in different constituencies since the election dates were announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
He said, “It has been a month since the central government notified the rules to apply for citizenship under CAA, and an online portal for it was also launched. But only one person from Assam has applied for citizenship under the provisions of CAA. The person belongs to the Barak Valley region.”
Launching a sharp attack on anti-CAA protesters, the chief minister said, “A section of people tried to make citizens fearful by claiming that lakhs of people would get citizenship under CAA. Now those must be held accountable before the public.”
The chief minister also argued that in Bengali-dominated areas in the state, CAA does not have any impact on the ground.
“You can take the Sonari assembly constituency. Many Bengali-speaking people are residing here. But no one has applied for citizenship under the new rules,” he added.
Sarma also mentioned, “I have been saying for many days that the applications for citizenship under CAA would be few.”
Notably, All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and several other organisations have protested in the state soon after the rules of CAA were notified by the Union government last month.
