With protests in Assam and Tripura simmering down and authorities relaxing curfews in parts of the state, two protestors were pronounced dead rising the death toll to five in Assam on Sunday. According to The Indian Express, one of the deceased was identified as Ishwar Nayak who succumbed to bullet injury during clashes on Thursday.
Two teenagers died on Thursday when Assam police fired at them without any warning as reported by Scroll.in
In another development, BJP ally, Asom Gana Parishad, who voted in support of the bill in Rajya Sabha, has said it will move the apex court against the contentious bill amid rising opposition in the northeast.
“Withdraw this Act or arrest us all. This will be our slogan as we plan to start massive protests across Assam in next week,” said AASU adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharyya. The student organisation announced a three-day satyagrah in all districts from 16 December. They also plan to go door-to-door to make people aware of the consequences of the Act. The student body will also carry out protests in other parts of the country and accommodating voices of those residing outside Assam. Appealing for peaceful protests, AASU leadership has announced there will be no demonstrations after 5 pm.
“The Assamese sentiment is neither Hindu nor Muslim,” said ASU general secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi. “ It can’t be destroyed by a handful of bigoted politicians. We are already overburdened with lakhs and lakhs of illegal immigrants and we just can’t accept any more regardless of what community they belong to. We have initiated a case against the Act in the Supreme Court and we will fight till last drop of our blood. No Sarbananda Sonowal or Himanta Biswa Sarma can surrender the fate of the Assamese people into the hands of illegal immigrants. This government has deceived people with misinformation about the Act. I want to ask where they got the data of 5 lakh 55 thousand Hindu Bengali people awaiting citizenship grant. This Act violates Assam Accord and we can’t let this happen.”
However, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal continued to defend the Act and said that BJP government is “committed to protect all genuine Indian citizens and the rights of the people of Assam.”
We are committed to protect all genuine Indian citizens and the rights of the people of Assam.
I call upon all sections of the society to thwart the elements who are misleading the people on #CAA & indulging in violence and together continue the growth journey of Assam. pic.twitter.com/RTGeWO2QCI
— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) December 15, 2019