By our correspondent
Agartala, February 04, 2019: Leader of the opposition and CPI-M leader Manik Sarkar today termed the “Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016” as an attempt to rejuvenate the separatist powers in the North Eastern Region which were neutralized after a long struggle and great effort.
While addressing a protest rally organized protesting the Bill he said, “The North East was always a castle of foreign powers who tried for decades to separate the North East from mainland India. That’s how, the slogans of separate state, separate territories for a particular race or community came into surface so frequently. The earlier chief ministers of these states had faced a lot of problems but with sustained effort, situation was managed and peace prevailed throughout the region. However, it seems that the Citizenship Amendment Bill has breached the line of peace”.
The former Chief Minister also claimed that that Bill has also created a possibility for the anti-national powers over here to fancy their chances. “The greatest virtue of North East remains in its diversity and vibrant population. Using this as an advantage racial discrimination was fueled and latterly approaches calmed the situation but once again the bill has recalled the ethnic differences”, he added.
Moreover, training his gun at the BJP, he alleged, today we see people who have killed Mahatma Gandhi, people who first fueled the communal differences to such an extent that riots took place and still heart and soul to blow their communal cap up became the protectors of nationalism.
“Religion can never become a rightful parameter to take a call on citizenship. This sort of proposal by anyone, is a sheer attack on the constitution of India and its authors”, Sarkar concluded adding that people should come forward irrespective of any barriers against this Bill. However, prominent Left leaders like Aghor Debbarma, Pabitra Kar and others also gave a bad press to the Bill during their respective addresses.
