Northeast calls for bandh against Citizenship Amendment Bill

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To protest the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday, a bandh was called by Northeast today.

The strike which began at 5 am on Tuesday has disrupted normal life in several parts of the state.

The bandh called by several indigenous organisations will observe the shutdown till 4 pm.

According to the sources, the security was beefed up in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura, but Nagaland has been exempted from the purview of the bandh in view of the ongoing Hornbill Festival there.

In several places, protesters burnt tyres and blocked national highways, but police intervene and clear the roads.

Dibrugarh University and Gauhati University in the state have postponed all examinations scheduled for tomorrow.

The Bill would not be applicable to Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh where the inner line permit (ILP) system exists and those tribal regions of Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya which are governed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to grant Indian Citizenship to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have migrated to India after facing persecution on grounds of religion in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, if they fulfil conditions for grant of citizenship.