“People opposing Citizenship Bill wants to turn Assam into Islamic State”

Assam's Minister of State (MoS) for Railways, Rajen Gohain, made a critical remark on the much debated Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 on Friday, at a time when the State is going through a sensitive phase with its implementation as a number of organisations across Assam has opposed it while the BJP government has been constantly trying to push it upon people of the State.

Gohain today said that people who are opposing the Citizenship Bill, wants to turn Assam into an 'Islamic State'.

Supporting his fellow party men and BJP MLA from Hojai, Shiladitya Dev, Gohain said that what Dev has been saying in relation to the implementation of is infact true.

Shiladitya Dev has been constantly vocal about the implementation of Bill and has made a number of remarks against the Muslim community residing in the State and giving it a communal twist.

Dev has previously said that a number of Muslim Bangladeshis has illegally entered the State and has outgrown the Hindu population in the State. He also questioned the accountability of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and how accurate it is.

He feels that the Citizenship Bill will provide justice to the minority Hindus from the neighboring countries, who want to reside back to India, especially Bangladesh.

However, the Bill and Shildaditya Dev has both drawn a lot of flake in Assam. Dev has been slammed by various organisations alleging him of disrupting communal harmony in the State with his remarks, which specially distinguishes between the Hindus and Muslims.

More than 60 organisations, including Assam BJP government's ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), has strongly opposed the implementation of the bill in the State as it violates the Assam accord and will turn Assam into a dumping ground just for the sake of vote bank politics by the BJP government.