New Delhi:
Amid the ongoing violent anti-Citizenship Amendment Bill clashes in Assam, there are reports coming in that the crucial Indo-Japan summit has been moved out from Guwahati to New Delhi. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s annual summit was scheduled to be held from December 15 to 17 in Guwahati. Now, the government has put ‘plan B’ in action and the Modi-Abe meeting will be held at New Delhi’s Hyderabad House on the already announced dates.
The state of Assam is burning over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, that seeks to grant Indian citizenship to illegal non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The bill, which was already passed by the Lok Sabha, cleared the Rajya Sabha hurdle on Wednesday.
The protesters set vandalised posters of the India-Japan summit and set aflame the makeshift stage that had been constructed for the event in Guwahati.
On Wednesday, the anti-CAB protesters clashed with the police and set afire several government vehicles. It is being said that the magnitude of the protests is the same as the violent six-year movement that resulted in the signing of the Assam accord in 1985. The protesters attacked the house of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. They also pelted stones at the houses of several BJP leaders. The house of Union minister Rameswar Teli in Assam's Duliajan was also attacked by the anti-CAB protesters.
As the protests spread across the state, the Army has been deployed in Guwahati, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Jorhat districts in Assam. An indefinite curfew has been imposed in Guwahati and internet services has been suspended in 10 districts of Assam in a bid to curb communication between the protesters. The people of north eastern states, especially Assam and Tripura are demanding revocation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as they fear being "overrun" by non-Muslims from neighbouring Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Airlines on Thursday cancelled flights to various cities in Assam in the wake of unrest in the state. IndiGo, Vistara, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir are among the carriers that have cancelled their flights. With respect to the ongoing unrest situation in Assam, a few Guwahati and Dibrugarh-bound flights have been cancelled on Thursday, an IndiGo spokesperson said in a statement. "We are operating relief flights at capped fares for passengers who are currently at these locations," the statement said.
The airline has waived rescheduling/cancellation for passengers travelling to and from Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Jorhat till December 13. In a tweet, Vistara said it has cancelled flights "as per government advice due to current disturbances in Assam".
"Flight UK725 (IXB-DIB) and UK726 (DIB-IXB) are cancelled for today. We are offering free change/cancellation to Guwahati and Dibrugarh flights through Sunday, December 15," it said. An Air India spokesperson said that only its flights between Kolkata and Dibrugarh have been cancelled. A GoAir spokesperson said the airline has cancelled flights to Assam on Thursday.
