At least 60 organisations, including the Congress, have called a 12-hour Assam bandh on Tuesday to protest against a meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee with the Ministries of Home and External Affairs over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.

The bill seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, drawing opposition from several organisations in Assam. The BJP government in Assam, led by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, has made adequate preparations to maintain peace and normalcy in the state.

However, the BJP-led state government has made it clear that it is compulsory for its employees to attend offices. The government has also said that trade licences of businesses could stand cancelled if they were found backing the bandh.