Union Minister and MP from Assam, Rameshwar Teli on Thursday appealed for peace in Assam while asserting that Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) will not affect the culture and language of Assam.
He also said that some people had pelted stones at his residence in Dibrugarh and set one of his relative’s shops on fire after the passage of The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by Parliament trigged protests across Northeastern states including Assam.
“I live in Dibrugarh. Around 11 pm on Wednesday night, some people came and set fire on my uncle’s shop. They also torched the sitting area of my security. They vandalised our boundary walls and throw stones at our house due to which glass windows have been broken. They also tried to set my vehicles on fire,” the Union Minister told ANI.
Teli, an MP from Dibrugarh said that the government will do anything against Assam.
“They are the same people who showered flowers on me some days back. They are our people. I want to appeal that peace should be restored. I am Assamese and will not do anything that will hurt people of Assam. The government will not do anything against Assam,” he said.
Assam’s largest city Guwahati and its district Dibrugarh have been placed under indefinite curfew till further orders in the wake of protests after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The administration has also suspended mobile Internet services for 24 hours from 7 pm on Wednesday in ten districts of the state-Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (metro) and Kamrup.
An order of the Assam administration warned that violation of the “promulgation” will be punishable under Section 188 IPC and also under the relevant provision of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
According to Indian Army officials, five Army Columns have been requisitioned and deployed in Assam while three Assam Rifles columns requisitioned and deployed in Tripura.
The CAB smoothly sailed through Parliament after the Rajya Sabha passed it on Wednesday. As many as 125 members of the Upper House voted in favor while 105 MPs voted against the Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha earlier this week.
The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. (ANI)
