Public agitations against citizenship bill should be dignified: Assam govt

The Assam government Saturday appealed to all groups, organisations and political parties to be peaceful and "dignified" in their agitation against the contentious citizenship bill.

Protest have rocked the state since the bill's passage in the Lok Sabha and on Friday activists of the peasant organisation Kisan Mazdoor Sangram Samiti held a nude protest outside the Assam Secretariat.

Chief secretary Alok Kumar told a press conference here that it is the responsibility of the leaders to keep the movement peaceful.

"The state is passing through a stage which is challenging... We are a mature democracy. We can understand the aspirations and concerns of the people", he said.

Without making any direct reference to the KMSS protest, Kumar said "We have observed certain deviations of late. The government feels that we have to try to be as tolerant and as dignified in our conduct as possible."
Stressing on dignified conduct, he said "We must respect each other. It is very important that this discourse not degenerate into violent behaviour on the streets."
Stressing that a free and fair atmosphere is important for expressing opinions, Kumar said, "Let us maintain a peaceful and healthy environment and express our opinions in peaceful dignified and acceptable manner."