Peasant body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) on July 28 organised protests across Assam, demanding the release of its leader Akhil Gogoi and also the withdrawal of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
The protesters violated prohibitory orders in Guwahati and were arrested, while some formed human chains, performed songs and created artworks, demanding Gogoi’s release and repeal of the Act.
The protests were staged at a time when the country is reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic and parts of India, including Assam, which is fighting the twin disasters of the devastating floods and the deadly virus.
Protesters at @guwahaticity in demand of releasing #akhilgogoi pic.twitter.com/EqQKk1yATx
— Ponkhi Baruah.Guwahati (@JuleeBezbaruah) July 28, 2020
Dergaon, Merapani, Bokakhat and many other places in Golaghat district witnessed cultural protests.
‘They did not have any permission to stage the protest. So, we arrested them for violating the prohibitory orders,’ a senior police official said.
Gogoi is currently under treatment at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19. He was lodged at the Guwahati Central Jail for his alleged role in the anti-CAA protests last year.
KMSS president Raju Bora said that the group has restarted the anti-CAA movement and it will continue till the law is revoked.
‘This time, the agitation will be more united and powerful. The BJP government is scared of Akhil Gogoi and that is why they have put him in jail. They want to stop the peoples’ voice by imprisoning Gogoi,’ he added.
In Dibrugarh, farmers planted rice seedlings on their paddy fields as a sign of protest. In the Chenimari area of Barpeta, which is affected by the inundating floods, locals protested by forming human chains on their country-made boats.
During the violent anti-CAA movement, Gogoi was arrested on December 12 last year from Jorhat as a ‘preventive measure’ in view of the violating law and order situation in the state and his three colleagues were also taken into custody the next day.
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