Protests erupted across Assam and ripples were felt in other north-eastern states as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government cleared changes to the Citizenship Act, a decision that also prompted one of its regional allies, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), to break ties.

The amendment proposes to give citizenship to people from neighbouring countries who are religious minorities there, letting those who have lived in India for a particular period of time be naturalised. This has become contentious because it can potentially inflame ethnic divides in the north-east, where the influx of Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh has been a major issue over the last decade.