Guwahati: A day after BJP national president Amit Shah vowed to pass the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill if the saffron party returns to power in the coming Lok Sabha election, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Monday slammed the party chief for ignoring the people’s verdict and keeping Assam and the northeast on the edge for months.Talking to the media at the Assam Congress headquarters here, former chief minister Tarun Gogoi and APCC president Ripun Bora, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, slammed BJP saying it would get an ‘apt reply’ in the general election for challenging the indigenous people on the citizenship bill issue.“Assam and the northeast burned on the citizenship issue. After the government failed to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha, peace had returned to the region. But on Sunday, Shah visited Lakhimpur and in an attempt to execute their divisive politics in order to return to power, he is trying to reignite the citizenship fire again,” said Gogoi.He termed the national president’s assertion to pass the bill ‘dictatorial’. “Apart from anti-BJP organizations and parties, several NDA allies and people from within the party have been opposing the bill. If Shah advocates in favour of the bill, it just shows the leadership does not believe in democracy,” Gogoi added.The Congress veteran further cautioned the saffron party that they ‘cannot hoodwink’ the people of Assam by conferring the Bharat Ratna on music maestro Bhupen Hazarika. Gogoi urged BJP not to play politics with the sentiments of the people.Bora termed BJP’s move to bring the citizenship bill again for consideration a ‘blackmailing’ tactics. “This is a blackmailing tactic and politics of threat. Defying the popular verdict of the people, BJP is going ahead with its previous blueprint. Shah’s stand on the bill has revealed they are not compassionate about the region,” he said.Reacting strongly to Shah’s statement, the All Assam Students’ Union said, “The BJP president’s standpoint, supporting the citizenship bill, is condemnable. The people of the northeast reject such remarks,” said Aasu president Dipanka Kumar Nath and general secretary, Lurinjyoti Gogoi.The North East Students’ Organization also called the comments of Shah ‘an insult’ to the people’s movement in NE.“This statement is a clear reflection of the mindset of the party which does not have any regard for the sentiments, emotions and welfare of the indigenous people of the region. On the contrary, their design is to reduce the microscopic indigenous community to a minority by flooding the region with illegal Bangladeshis to achieve their Hindutva objective,” said a statement from the organisation.

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