Assam villagers donate paddy to fund CAA fight

GUWAHATI: Residents of about 75 villages in Dibrugarh district have donated 45,000kg of paddy to the All Assam Students Union (Aasu) to help fund its legal battle against the new citizenship law.
The donation drive at Sasoni mouza in oil-rich Naharkatia had started over two weeks ago, with each household contributing at least 4kg of paddy. Those who didn't have paddy to spare gave the cash equivalent of the quantity they wanted to contribute.
At a rally there on Saturday, representatives of the villagers handed over the paddy and around Rs 80,000 in cash to Aasu general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
The show of solidarity left Gogoi, who has been touring the state almost non-stop since mid-December, overwhelmed. "These villagers want to protect the identity and future of the Assamese. I am touched by their support to the anti-CAA movement," he said.
According to Gogoi, the paddy would be "auctioned" to raise money. "I am told more people have expressed their wish to donate paddy. The auction will take place soon,” he said.
Around 40 years ago, four young men from the area — Kumud Gogoi, Ajit Neog, Nripen Borah and Nagen Deka — had been killed while enforcing an oil blockade at the Oil India Ltd headquarters in Duliajan as part of the anti-foreigner agitation.
One of the villagers, Dina Borah, said the petition filed by Aasu in the Supreme Court was as crucial to the anti-CAA agitation as the protests on the streets. “We have collected 450 quintals of paddy till now. We hope to collect 150 quintals more.”
The apex court is likely to take up the petition filed by Aasu on Wednesday, sources said. Aasu’s contention is that CAA violates the Assam Accord of 1985 and should be scrapped.