AASU threatens mass protests if Modi comes for Khelo India

Guwahati: The All Assam Students Union (AASU), which is spearheading the protests against the new citizenship law, on Sunday warned of mass protests if Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes here on January 10 to declare open the 'Khelo India' Games in the state capital.

AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath told the media that their organisation was keeping a watch on both Khelo India Games as also the January 5 T20 international match between India and Sri Lanka, but refused to elaborate despite persistent queries.

The Prime Minister is likely to come for the Khelo India inauguration, his first visit to the eastern state which has seen volatile protests after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was passed by Parliament.

"If the Prime Minister comes, there will be massive protests," said Nath, saying the details of the agitation would be shared once Modi's trip was confirmed.

Addressing the media in Guwahati on Sunday, the president further said: "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to destroy the indigenous fabric of Assam. We will not let that happen.

"The fight against CAA will be a long one. The legal battle is going on in the Supreme Court," Nath said.

"Until CAA is repealed, we will continue to protest against it. Our democratic protests will continue," he reiterated.

Speaking to the media, AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya added: "Before Khelo India, there is a cricket match scheduled on January 5. We will observe both the two events closely."

"We will also monitor the government's actions and see that they do not deviate the people from the movement," he added.

"Even though the government is saying that people benefiting from CAA will be negligible, we want to make one thing clear that we will not accept anything that goes against the spirit of Assam Accord," he reiterated.

AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi also lashed out at the government and said: "The government will try every possible trick to saturate the movement. However, we will not let this happen."

"We will not rest until CAA is scrapped," he added.