No Point Being CM If I Can’t Protect Interests of People: Sonowal

Sonowal’s popularity has been diminishing due to his government’s silence on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

File image of Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal.

(Photo: PTI)

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday, 12 May said that there was no point of holding on to the seat of the Chief Minister if he could not “protect the interests of the people”.

As reported by The Times of India (TOI), Sonowal’s credibility as the ‘jatiya nayak’ (national hero) for the people has been diminishing, in light of his government’s alleged silence on the contentious issue of the Centre-proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

"If I cannot protect the people's interests, there is no point to my staying on as chief minister," said Sonowal, as reported by TOI.

The Centre-proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 seeks to make Hindus, Jains, Christians, Parsis and Buddhists of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan eligible for Indian citizenship, and bring down the residency period for eligibility from 11 years to six years.

This was the first statement that the Chief Minister had made on the issue, since the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the Bill began to hold public hearings in the northeast, a few days ago, the report adds.

Our objective should be to keep the unity among people intact, no matter what sacrifice we have to make. 

CM Sonowal, as reported by <i>TOI</i>

He also said that the government would not go against the interests of the people of the state.

“When the Centre had imposed the IM (DT) Act, no JPC had been set up to hear the people out. Now, it is upon my request that the JPC has come here for public hearings,” he added, as reported by TOI.

While the JPC is yet to make a decision on the Act, on account of the ongoing hearings, the panel reportedly hinted that it would be back for a second round of talks on the issue.

Protests Emerge Against the Bill in Assam

While the Meghalaya government has stated that it will oppose the Bill unanimously, an outbreak of protests have taken place across Assam, against the Assam government’s “silence” on the issue.

BJP's ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) threatened to leave the ruling three-party coalition if the Bill is passed, and even conducted a signature campaign against it, with party members saying that they were planning to collect 50 lakh signatures from the state before sending it to the JPC, the TOI report adds.

The Congress also said that the bill was against the spirit of the Assam Accord of 1985 and would affect the update of National Register of Citizens (NRC).

(With inputs from The Times of India)

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