Won’t betray Assamese on citizen bill, says Sonowal
Guwahati: Amid the growing chaos over Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday reiterated that he is not going to betray the Assamese people.
“The people of Assam have made me Chief Minister with lots of trust and confidence. I have not come here to betray the Assamese race. I shall work for the development of Assam till the last moment by taking into confidence my MLAs and the party MPs,” said Sonowal at a meeting in Dhubri district’s Chapar on Wednesday.
“I have not taken the responsibility of Chief Minister just for the sake of being a Chief Minister. I am here to establish peace in the state keeping the ideologies of Dr Bhupen Hazarika and Hemanga Biswas in mind and uniting the people of Barak and Brahmaputra … and of hills and plains,” he said, adding that development is not possible without peace and harmony.
The pressure seems to be mounting on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the state over growing opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has already snapped ties with the saffron party over the issue, while hundreds of organisations in the state are opposing the Bill.
The AGP has already announced its agitation against the Bill to be started from Friday.
Even BJP legislators Rituparna Baruah, Padma Hazarika and Atul Bora have expressed their disagreement to the Bill.