BH Correspondent
New Delhi: Anti -Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in North East state had forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cancel his visit to Assam where he was supposed to have launched “Khelo India Youth Games” in Guwahati during his visit to Assam in January.
According to reports, Modi’s visit to Assam has been rescheduled for February 7. Protests against the government’s new citizenship law have been quite intensive in the state of Assam. The main reason is that for the first time the act wants religion as a criterion for qualifying for Indian citizenship. Active student bodies in the state like the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and North East Students’ Union (NESO) in particular had warned several times that that Modi could face protests anywhere in the northeast state. As a result, during the proposed visit, Modi will not visit parts of the state where anti-CAA protests have been intense.
If all goes well, Modi’s third visit will see him attend a public rally at Kokrajhar to celebrate the Bodo Peace Accord that was signed between Centre, state and nine Bodo organisations including All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) and United Bodo People’s Organization (UBPO), four rebel factions of National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) in January.
“GoA has invited Hon PM Sri @narendramodi for his gracious presence at the celebrations for #BodoPeaceAccord at #Kokrajhar on February 7, 2020”, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.
Meanwhile, Sarma along with Bodoland Territorial chief Hagrama Mohilary, Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary and All Bodo Students’ Union leaders visited Kokrajhar on Saturday to check out the preparations for PM’s visit.
With agency inputs
