Won’t implement CAA if voted back to power
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological mentor RSS of dividing Assam, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi yesterday said his party, if voted back to power in the state, will never implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Addressing his first public rally in Assam ahead of the assembly elections due in March-April in the north eastern state, he said Assam needs its "own Chief Minister" who will listen to the voice of the people and not one who listens only to Nagpur (RSS headquarters) and Delhi from where the BJP-led federal government rules India.
"The Assam Accord has brought peace and it is the protector of the state. I and my party workers will protect each principle of the Accord. There will not be a single deviation from it," Rahul said.
The tripartite 1985 Assam Accord between Assam government, Indian government and All Assam Students Union (AASU) ended years of violent street protests led by AASU in Assam against "foreigners" which was a euphemism for "illegal" migrants from across erstwhile East Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Rahul said illegal immigration is an issue in Assam and exuded confidence that the people of the state have the capability to resolve it through dialogue.
Alleging that BJP and RSS are trying to divide the state on the issue of Assam Accord, he said, "If Assam is divided, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah will not be affected but the people of Assam and the rest of India will be affected."
Rahul's comments on CAA came a day after the Chief Minister of the southern Indian state of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan said his government will not implement the contentious CAA.
Amit Shah last week said that the process of implementation of the CAA would start after the Covid-19 vaccination drive.
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