GUWAHATI: In his second visit to the state in a month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi , facing black flag agitations and nude protests by those opposed to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, on Saturday said his government would ensure that the proposed amendment would, at no cost, hurt the language, identity and culture of Assam and the northeast.It was at Silchar in Assam last month that Modi had announced that his government planned on pushing the bill — which seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan — through Parliament.“I assure you that no damage will be done to Assam and the northeast (with the passage of the bill). Granting citizenship under the provisions of the bill is a long drawn out process and will depend solely on the discretion of the state government,” Modi said at Changsari, 30 km from Guwahati. Nearly 4 lakh people from diverse ethnic groups had turned up at the rally.Justifying the bill as a measure to “save” those who face religious persecution, he said, “One should differentiate between infiltrators and those who had to leave their countries and take shelter in India because of their religious belief. Infiltrators have no place in our country.” Lashing out at Congress and other parties opposed to the bill for “spreading misinformation about the bill”, he added, “Those who oppose the bill should ask those who have taken shelter in India because of religious persecution the lifetime of suffering they have undergone in their respective countries.”Having come under fire from indigenous communities for introducing a bill that could endanger them, the Prime Minister fell back on a three-point agenda to urge upon the people that it is committed to protect the territorial integrity and identity of Assam — the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Assam Accord and Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for six communities.“Since we have come to power, we have paved the way for sealing the international border by reaching a land exchange agreement with Bangladesh. We have expedited the National Register of Citizens update process,” he said, adding, “We are committed to implementing Clause 6 of the Assam Accord as soon as possible to protect the identity of the Assamese people ... The government’s initiative to grant ST status to six communities without hampering the rights of existing tribes is another step to safeguard the state’s interests.”Continuing the strident protests against the PM’s visit to Assam, activists of the All Assam Students’ Union, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and several other organizations showed black flags as the PM’s convoy passed by.

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