Congress will fail to revive itself by stoking protest against CAB: Jitendra Singh

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that Congress will fail in its attempts to revive itself by adding fuel to the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in the North East.

"The misleading statement made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi yesterday regarding the North Eastern region tends to the fact that Congress is trying to fish in the troubled waters of Brahmaputra. They are trying to revive their fortunes through that but it is not going to happen. They tried to leverage the support of certain disgruntled elements of society," the Minister said. 

READ | Anti-CAB Protests In Assam: Police Opens Fire On Protestors

Speaking about the misinformed protesters in the North East, Singh said, "In certain sections, there is a lack of understanding about the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The people who went to protest are our own people. They will be taken care of. The new law is not going to affect anybody adversely. Our elected representatives are trying to allay their concerns," he added. 

READ | As PM Modi Moves To Assure Assam Over CAB, Congress Fires Caustic Jibe

Under Curfew, mobile and internet services suspended 

In the wake of the on-going protests, Assam's capital city Guwahati and its district Dibrugarh have been placed under indefinite curfew till further orders after the passage of the CAB in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The administration has also suspended mobile Internet services for 24 hours from 7 pm on Wednesday in ten districts of the state - Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (metro) and Kamrup. 

The Government of Tripura had also suspended mobile, internet and SMS services for 48 hours as a precautionary measure to prevent "transmission of fake images videos and texts" and to prevent ethnic clashes in the state. The services had been suspended from 2 PM on Tuesday. 

READ | PM Modi Assures 'brothers & Sisters' Of Assam: You've Nothing To Worry Over CAB

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill

The Citizenship Amendment Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Through this bill, Indian citizenship will be provided to the members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from the three countries to India till December 31, 2014, to put an end to them being treated as illegal immigrants in the country. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha with a roaring majority of 311 votes in favour and 80 against it and subsequently it was passed in Rajya Sabha as well with 125 votes in favour.

(With ANI inputs)

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