CAB protests: Internet blackout in parts of Assam from 7 pm

In an official notification, the Assam government said that a prohibition on mobile data and internet services was being suspended for the next 24 hours, starting from 7 pm.

he Assam government has decided to impose an internet blackout in 10 districts of Assam for 24 hours, starting at 7 pm on Wednesday. The blackout has been imposed in an effort to control the violent protests underway across the state against the Citizenship Amendment Bill under consideration by the Rajya Sabha.

The bill seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslims migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who faced religious persecution in their country.

The violent protests were raging on in several parts of Assam, as student bodies have demanded an immediate withdrawal of the bill, saying that giving citizenship to illegal immigrants will affect opportunities available to locals.

In an official notification, the Assam government said that a prohibition on mobile data and internet services were being suspended for next 24 hours, starting from 7 pm, "in order to prevent the misuse of the media to disturb the peace and tranquility of the state and maintaining the law and order".

The government has also requisitioned two Army columns and have put them on stand by at Bongaigaon and Dibrugarh to be deployed if the situation escalates.

Tens of thousands of protesters against the CAB descended on the streets of Assam, clashing with police and plunging the state into chaos of a magnitude unseen since the violent six-year movement by students that ended with the signing of the Assam accord.

Though no party or student body has called a shutdown, protesters, a majority of them students, fought pitched battles with security forces in the restive state, including in front of the secretariat, the seat of the BJP government. Police fired tear gas shells and baton-charged protesters, who fought back.

Assam smouldered with protests rocking several parts of the state on the day the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is being hotly debated in the Rajya Sabha after its passage by the Lok Sabha.

Follow | Live updates on Rajya Sabha debate and protests on CAB

Also read | Anti Citizenship Bill protest: 4 Army columns deployed in Assam, Tripura as agitations rock Northeast