Entire North-East has become the new Kashmir: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being absent during the debate on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in both Houses of Parliament and claimed that "entire north-east has become the new Kashmir".

Speaking to ANI, Chowdhury said, "This is the first time that when such landmark legislation, as has been propagated by the government, was passed from both the Houses with the Prime Minister being absent from the debate and discussions on this Bill."

He continued, "With the passage of this bill, the entire north-east, barring a few places, is in turmoil. It is like the entire north-east has become the new Kashmir, even the Army had to be called in to control the situation in Assam, this is a great failure of the government."

"...The retort of the Bangladesh Foreign Minister against this decision by the government too is important, these will further require deep discussions," Chowdhury said.

In Assam, Guwahati and Dibrugarh districts have been placed under indefinite curfew till further orders in the wake of protests after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 sailed through the Parliament after 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.