Bangladeshi-Origin Hindus no threat to Assam: Rajen Gohain

Nagaon (Assam) [India], May 10 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain on Friday suggested that Bangladesh-origin Hindus do not pose any threat to the indigenous communities in Assam.
"Few people are spreading rumours that with the implementation of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, all Hindu Bangladeshis will be a part of Assam. The Hindus who came to India till 2014 will be given citizenship. This won't affect the indigenous community of Assam," Gohain told ANI.
"The Bangladesh-origin Hindus have supported us, so we (BJP) are also supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 that would pave the way for grant of citizenship to this community. It is Bangladeshi-origin Muslims who are posing threat to the identity and culture of indigenous communities in the state," he added.
Gohain's statement came while the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) led by chairman and BJP MLA Rajendra Agarwal is in the state taking opinions of various sections of the society on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.
The Committee listened to opinions of 127 organisations in Guwahati on Monday while it will be holding similar exercises at Silchar in Barak Valley from this afternoon till tomorrow.
Agarwal stated that it would hold another round of hearing in Guwahati on a later date in view of the raging protests registered by various organisations in Brahmaputra Valley against the Bill. Various organisations in the state hit the streets and burnt an effigy of Gohain in an angry reaction to his statement in favour of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in July 2016, seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to give citizenship by naturalisation to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who came to India before December 31, 2014. (ANI)