GUWAHATI: Caught in the protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan addressed a virtual empty ground on Republic Day on Saturday.

Nobody from the general public attended the function which was organised at the Assam Rifles ground in Aizawl. Those in attendance were ministers, MLAs besides senior officials of the government and police and paramilitary forces.

Even as the governor was delivering his speech, the protesters, who gathered outside the ground, kept shouting slogans against the controversial Bill.

Six armed contingents took part in the parade. Elsewhere in the state, the deputy commissioners (district magistrates) unfurled the Tricolour with few from the public in attendance.

The NGO Coordination Committee, which is a conglomerate of various Mizo civil society and students’ organisations, and political party People’s Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram had earlier called for a boycott of the celebration protesting the Centre’s move to grant Indian citizenship to six persecuted non-Muslim communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

In Nagaland too, not many people turned up to celebrate the day. Elsewhere in the Northeast, the day was celebrated with pomp and grandeur. Several tribal organisations in Nagaland and some militant groups in Manipur, Assam and Tripura had earlier appealed to people to boycott the celebration.