Tinsukia: Assam Police detained several people from Tinsukia on February 29 after a protest against the government’s move to implement the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) broke out.
The protest was carried out by the district’s unit of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and saw several members of the farmers’ organisation take to the streets near Thana intersection of Tinsukia town to voice their opposition.
Soon, the police intervened and started moving the protesters away from the site as they shouted slogans demanding the withdrawal of CAA. Many were also detained.
Thursday also saw the 16-party United Opposition Forum Assam (UOFA) submit a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu through Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria. Terming it ‘unconstitutional and anti-national’ the UOFA urged the president’s intervention in the matter and to direct the Centre to repeal the act.
The CAA was enacted in India on December 12, 2019, sparking widespread debates and protests across the country. The legislation amended the Citizenship Act of 1955, with the primary objective of providing expedited Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from neighboring countries.
The CAA, specifically, targeted non-Muslim minorities such as Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The Act, in essence, aimed to offer refuge to individuals facing discrimination in these predominantly Muslim-majority nations.
The nationwide protests against the CAA were marked by students, activists, and citizens expressing their apprehensions about the potential erosion of India’s secular fabric. Critics argued that the legislation could undermine the country’s long-standing tradition of religious and cultural diversity.
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