‘No one can take away your rights’, PM Modi assures people of Assam on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on December 12, said that the people of Assam have nothing to worry about the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The prime minister’s statement comes amid massive protests in parts of Assam and the Northeast region against the contentious Bill.

The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 11. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 9.

In a tweet, PM Modi said, “I want to assure my brothers and sisters of Assam that they have nothing to worry after the passing of #CAB. I want to assure them- no one can take away your rights, unique identity and beautiful culture. It will continue to flourish and grow.”

“The Central Government and I are totally committed to constitutionally safeguard the political, linguistic, cultural and land rights of the Assamese people as per the spirit of Clause 6,” PM Modi said in another tweet.

The prime minister tweeted the same in Assamese also.

The Bill, commonly called ‘CAB’, is to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. According to the Bill, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution in their respective native countries, will not be treated as illegal immigrants and stand eligible for Indian citizenship.

The Army was called in at four places and Assam Rifles personnel were deployed in Tripura on December 11 as the two Northeast states plunged into chaos over the hugely emotive Bill.

Curfew was also imposed in Dibrugarh, Assam for an indefinite period as protesters targeted the houses of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Minister Rameswar Teli in the district.

Internet services have been suspended in 10 districts of Assam, beginning 7.00 pm on December 11, as massive protests raged across cities, to prevent "misuse" of social media to disturb peace and tranquillity and maintain law and order.

Internet services are already suspended in the entire state of Tripura for 48 hours from 2.00 pm on December 11 to thwart attempts by mischief mongers to disturb peace. The order issued by Tripura government also prohibits SMSes on the networks of all mobile service providers.