Goa: Assamese community protests against Citizenship Act

Members of the Assamese community held a peaceful protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Panaji on Saturday.

The demonstration was held at Azad Maidan here under the banner of 'Assam Society of Goa', whose members are those who hail from the northeastern state and who work or have settled down in the coastal state.

Its spokeperson Deepak Kalita said the Union government should focus on providing basic things like food, jobs and good roads instead of allowing people from Bangladesh into Assam on the pretext of religious persecution.

The issue was not about any particular religion but about the identity of Assam which was under threat, he said.

Under the amended Citizenship Act, non-Muslim refugees who came to India before December 31, 2014, to escape religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be granted Indian citizenship.

Protests against the law, which its critics allege discriminates on the basis of religion, have rapidly spread across the country.