Congress trying to revive its fortunes by stoking protests 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 is trying to revive its fortunes by stoking protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the North East but it will fail in its attempts.

"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 told ANI.

"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.

Assam's capital city Guwahati and its district Dibrugarh have been placed under indefinite curfew till further orders in the wake of protests after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (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 decision came in the wake of protests in the state against the CAB.

Also, the Indian Army said that two columns of Assam Rifles troops have been deployed in Tripura and the third column in Assam is on standby at the request of the civil administration in Tripura and Assam.

The CAB smoothly sailed through Parliament after the Rajya Sabha passed it on Wednesday. As many as 125 members of the Upper House voted in favour while 105 MPs voted against the Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha earlier this week.

The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.