The CPI(M) announced on Friday that it will hold a countrywide protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill on February 4.
The CPI(M) Polit Bureau appealed to all parties, groups and citizens, who believe in the unity and diversity of the country and the common basis of citizenship as enshrined in the Constitution, to join this protest, said a release issued on behalf of the CPI(M)’s Central Committee .
The Polit Bureau expresses its deep anguish over the growing sense of disquiet and agitation among the people across the North-East, over the proposed Bill which has been passed by the Lok Sabha and awaits passage in the Rajya Sabha, it said.
“The Bill infringes on the basic premise of our Constitution, and the idea of unity in diversity stands threatened with this proposal which exclusively recognises religious identity as the basis for citizenship”, the release said.
North-East has a rich population diversity based on cultural, linguistic, religious and ethnic pluralism. “There is also a sense of insecurity over the sustenance of the distinct identities of the communities residing in the region,” it said.
Relative peace had come to prevail in this region in the recent times but the Bill is “disrupting stability” with people coming out on the streets and protesting the legislative proposal in Assam and most of the other North-East States.