Shops, markets, business establishments, government and private offices, banks and education institutions were mostly closed in the four states due to the bandh which began this morning, according to official reports.
A massive rally was organised in Guwahati in Assam where NESO chairman Samujjal Bhattacharjee said, "Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the Assam Accord in 1985, but Sonia Gandhi, the UPA chairperson, has failed to implement it and stop illegal migration.
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who represents Assam in Parliament, has also failed in this context," he alleged.
He blamed Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for trivialising the issue and said that the recent exodus of students and professionals to the Northeast following the riots in lower Assam was the outcome of the government's apathy.
"This is not a Hindu-Muslim issue, but the problem is due to illegal migration from Bangladesh and our movement will continue till our demands and all illegal migrants, irrespective of religion who have come after 1971 leave," he said. MORE