Citizenship Bill: 'Ready to go to jail' Gogoi says he may violate curfew

Senior Congress leader and former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said he would break the prohibitory order and court arrest if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was not withdrawn by the Centre.

By prohibiting all sorts of protests, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government was curtailing the democratic rights of people and running the state in an autocratic manner, he added.

"I will violate (section) 144 (of the Code of Criminal Procedure) if you (Centre) do not withdraw the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. I will lead people and shout slogans. I will go to jail -- a jail bharo (movement)," Gogoi told reporters here.

In view of protests on a daily basis against the bill, the Guwahati police on Thursday banned all sorts of agitations, demonstrations, processions and slogan-shouting in large parts of Guwahati under section 144 of the CrPC.