ITANAGAR, Jan 12: The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) observed ‘black day’ at its office here on Saturday in support of the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), which announced the ‘black day’ in solidarity with the five student activists who were shot at by police personnel in Tripura recently, and to register opposition to the citizenship (amendment) bill (CAB).
Speaking to this daily, AAPSU general secretary Tobom Dai said, “The CAB is a bill which is detrimental, anti- Northeast and anti-indigenous people bill for the Northeast.”
Following the shooting incident, Dai said, NESO leaders had gone to visit the victims but Tripura’s BJP leaders and the public did not allow them to do so.
“The BJP government in Tripura is acting as a stepmother, as they have no concern for the students. If the Tripura government were concerned about the injured, they would have let the NESO leaders visit the victims and at the same time would have provided incentives,” Dai said.
He informed that the NESO has demanded a judicial inquiry into the case and compensation for the victims to meet their medical expenses.
“Though right now we have no information about the reaction to the demands, we are hopeful that the Tripura government will act on the demands by a couple of days,” Dai said.
“The BJP government should stop making such immature decision which will in the days to come create communal disharmony,” he said, adding that the BJP’s passing the bill in the Lok Sabha despite opposition from other parties “shows their attitude of autocracy.”
“We have been fighting against the Chakmas and Hajongs for five decades and many student leaders have sacrificed their lives for the cause. I request Chief Minister Pema Khandu to immediately give a statement rejecting the bill,” Dai said.
He said the state government “very tactfully brought the bill to which the people of state have been opposing for decades.”
“The state government should know that the indigenous people will never accept the bill, and the AAPSU will fight until we get a concrete statement refusing the bill,” Dai said.
