Amid angry protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said huge misinformation campaign has been carried out over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill while addressing a rally in Assam’s Amingaon.
He further said the NDA government was ready to fully protect the culture, resources and the language of the Northeast states.
In an indirect attack at the opposition, PM Modi said: “false rumours about the citizenship bill are being spread by people sitting in AC rooms”.
Defending the Bill, he said we must “understand the pain of people forced to flee their homes and leave behind all they own”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday fired a fresh salvo at the Opposition accusing the Congress of “ignoring the real heroes of India”.
His remarks came close on the heels of Bhupen Hazarika being conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously.
“I pay my tributes to Dr Bhupen Hazarika. He raised his voice for the deprived and the poor,” PM Modi said.
Repeating his BC and AD jibe, PM Modi said, “I want to ask Congress, why did they fail to confer Bharat Ratnas to those who really deserved it. Why did they ignore real ratnas of India.”
The prime minister had earlier in the Lok Sabha said, “Our friends in Congress see things in two time periods. BC- Before Congress, when nothing happened. AD- After dynasty- where everything happened.”
Earlier, PM Modi inaugurated the Numaligarh Refinery Ltd’s bio-diesel refinery and the Barauni-Guwahati gas pipeline.
He also laid the foundation stone of a six-lane bridge over river Brahmaputra.
“Today is a new chapter in the history of the Northeast,” PM Modi said after the inauguration.
“Assam is on the path to progress,” says PM Modi. “We have launched projects worth thousands of crores.”
A 729 km gas pipeline from Barauni – Guwahati passing through Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim and Assam will also be laid by the prime minister.
PM Modi kicked off his two-day visit of the Northeast on Friday evening.
Modi was shown black flags in at least two places on Saturday for the second consecutive day in Assam over the contentious Citizenship Bill.
Modi, who was on his way to the airport from the Raj Bhawan in Guwahati, was shown black flags by protesters belonging to the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) at Machkhowa area.
Minutes later, a group of students showed black flags to the prime minister when his huge convoy was passing through the Gauhati University at Jalukbari area.
On Friday evening, Modi was shown black flags in at least four different locations as soon as he landed in Guwahati and was travelling from the airport to the Raj Bhawan to spend the night.
While hundreds of Gauhati University students waved black flags at Modi in Jalukbari area, activists of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and AJYCP did the same at Adabari and Fancy Bazar areas.
Members of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) were also seen waving black flags at the prime minister and shouting slogans as his convoy crossed the AASU headquarters on the Mahatma Gandhi Road at Uzan Bazar.
Slogans like ‘Modi go back’, ‘Scrap Citizenship Amendment Bill’, ‘Joi Aai Asom (Glory to Mother Assam)’ was heard.
This is Modi’s third visit to Assam since December 25, 2018, when he inaugurated the Bogibeel bridge. In his second visit on January 4 this year, the prime minister had told a rally in Silchar that the Citizenship Bill would be passed by Parliament soon, triggering widespread protests in the state.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India even if they do not possess any document.
The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha during the Winter Session on January 8 and has been awaiting Rajya Sabha nod.
Later in the day, PM Modi is scheduled to fly to Tripura to address a public rally.