'State on verge of linguistic crisis'

GUWAHATI: The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) on Monday said Assam is on verge of a deep linguistic and political crisis after the Centre tabled a bill in Parliament recently to regularize the entry of minority communities from Bangladesh to India.
Three activists of the farmers' body are on an indefinite hunger strike since July 25 in front of Dighalipukhuri here in protest against the Centre's decision to allow minorities from the neighbouring country to settle in India.KMSS said Assam will be the worst hit due to the Centre's decision. Police arrested several activists of KMSS when they went to stage a protest against the Centre's move in front of the secretariat here on Monday.
Addressing the newsmen, KMSS adviser Akhil Gogoi said Assamese people will face a big linguistic crisis if Bengali-speaking Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh are granted citizenship in India by amending the Citizenship Act. "It is a design of RSS and BJP to dethrone the Assamese people from political power in the state and establish Hindi belt politics. We condemn it and warn the Centre to face any kind of situation if Hindus or any minority community from Bangladesh are settled in Assam. This move of the Centre will change the politics of Assam for ever," said Gogoi.
He added that the amendment of Citizenship Act will pave the way for entry of 1.7 crore Hindus from Bangladesh to India and Assam as a bordering state is most vulnerable to face large scale influx of Hindu immigrants.