Guwahati: The Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill (FACAAB), headed by intellectual Hiren Gohain, on Tuesday appealed to people to vote for candidates opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in this Lok Sabha election.The forum, which comprises several eminent scholars, activists and leading personalities from different walks of life, said BJP’s ‘autocratic obstinacy’ has been revealed during the anti-citizenship bill movement. It appealed to voters to defeat the BJP-led coalition to avert any possibility of the contentious legislation being brought back again.Gohain, who is the chairman of the forum, said religious fanaticism will reach the climax and democratic agitations and criticism will be thrashed ruthlessly if BJP returns to power again. “This Lok Sabha election is going to be very important for the destiny of India and Assam. There is no doubt about that. If the BJP coalition comes to power again, the anti-democracy forces will sweep the country like a hurricane. The manner in which the BJP-led government has attempted to destroy the constitutional institutions, tried to take away the autonomy of the RBI, it is needless to say to what extent they can go if reinstalled in power at the Centre again,” he added.He alleged that BJP’s silence over its MP Sakshi Maharaj’s controversial statement that there would be no elections in 2024 after the 2019 general elections indicates that the saffron party might curb the right of the voters to elect representatives of their choice if reelected. The Forum also appealed to voters to defeat ‘communal’ and ‘opportunist’ AIUDF , which it said is going to indirectly help BJP by dividing anti-BJP votes.

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