People's unified voice will eventually prevail in anti-CAA movement: AASU

Asserting that people of Assam have shown solidarity with the movement against the amended citizenship law in an "unprecedented" way, AASU's chief advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya on Friday said unified voice of the masses will eventually prevail.

The All Assam Students' Union (AASU), which led the historic Assam Movement from 1979-85, is also spearheading the anti-CAA movement which seeks revoking of the new legislation, saying it "violates" the Assam Accord.

"We fought the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) tooth and nail, and we are against this CAA, and people of Assam will continue to oppose this with unrelenting spirit. We will not give up, our fight shall go on till the CAA is revoked," Bhattacharya said.

The AASU leader, who was also part of the Assam agitation, asserted that the anti-CAA movement has witnessed "unprecedented solidarity" from people who defied curfews like never before to protest peacefully and democratically to make their voices heard.

"I saw how people protested in Assam movement of 80s, but the way Assamese have come out in such huge numbers in such a short period, and at times spontaneously, speaks volumes for the pain they are suffering due to the imposition of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. People of Assam have rejected the CAA," Bhattacharya told PTI in an interview.

When asked whether the AASU and the masses will be able to sustain the momentum in the long run if the government does not respond to their demands, he said, "We Assamese are fighters to the core."