Kin of Assam martyrs return memento in protest against citizenship bill

GUWAHATI: Even as families of the martyrs of the Assam Accord recorded their protest against the Citizenship Bill by returning the mementos gifted to them by the state’s BJPgovernment, a fresh spate of tension was spurred when the BJP president of Assam’s Tinsukia district, Lakeswar Moran, was attacked by unidentified persons. Police had to resort to lathicharge to bring the situation under control. Moran, who had gone to attend an RSS-organised programme got caught in a scuffle between the All Assam Students Union (AASU), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) and supporters of the Asom Gana Parishad and BJP.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the families of martyrs who had sacrificed their lives while fighting for the foreigners-free Assam, have started returning the mementos and citations given by the BJP-led government, as a mark of protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The families have set January 31 as the deadline for chief minister Sonowal to respond. “The bill is an insult to the 860 martyrs of the Assam Agitation and we are giving back the citation given to us by the government,” those who had assembled said.