Grand memorial for anti-CAA protestors if party comes to power : Cong

Assam Congress on Tuesdayannounced that it will build a grand memorial here tocommemorate the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) protestorswho sacrificed their lives if the party comes to power, itscampaign committee chairman Pradyut Bordoloi said.

Bordoloi said the memorial will be built for theanti-CAA peoples movement that has been going on in Assamover the last few years to save ''Assamese pride''.

The Congress announcement came two days after formerCongress president Rahul Gandhi promised that the party willrespect the Assam Accord and will not implement thebotched up CAA if it wins the election due in March-April.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Ripun Bora saidthat the grand memorial will be the states message to BJP,which is ''No CAA in Assam''.

The dark days of BJPs oppression of Assamese peopleare about to end and the Congress will win the assemblyelection, Congress legislature party leader in the outgoinghouse Debabrata Saikia asserted.

The memorial will be a tribute to the peoplesstruggle against CAA, he added.

The Congress Manifesto Committee chairman Gaurav Gogoisaid that the memorial will be the struggle againstforgetting.

''Assam does not want CAA'', Gogoi said.

According to the Act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Jain,Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities who have come fromPakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014and face religious persecution there will not be treated asillegal immigrants but will be given Indian citizenship.

President Ram Nath Kovind had given assent to theCitizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 turning it into an Act.

A total five persons were killed in the state-wideviolent agitation that rocked the state in December 2019 afterthe Act came into being.

The Congress leaders, who are taking part in the'Axom Basaon Ahok Yatra' in the state, are campaigning againstthe draconian'' CAA.

The Yatra was launched on February 12 and theCongress leaders are interacting and taking feedback from allsections of society on CAA, unemployment and other issuesplaguing the state, the party sources said.