Guwahati, Sept. 10: Several indigenous organisations have called an Assam bandh on Saturday protesting the Centre's decision to allow non-Muslim migrants to stay in the country without any valid document.

The 12-hour bandh, jointly called by the Sadou Asom Muttock Yuba Chatra Sanmilan, All Dimasa Students' Union, All Karbi Students' Union, Sadou Asom Goria Moria Deshi Jatiya Parishad, Chutia Yuba Sanmilan Assam and Sadou Asam Madahi Chatra Santha, will commence from 5am.

The Sadou Asom Goria Moria Deshi Jatiya Parishad, an organisation representing indigenous Assamese Muslims, today said all essential services would be exempted from the bandh's purview.

Hafizul Ahmed, president of the Parishad, told The Telegraph that the latest decision exposes the central government's ploy to use Assam as the dumping ground of illegal migrants. He said it was high time that any further move to burden Assam with citizens from other countries was stopped.

"Assam is a beautiful land of culture and multiple ethnicities. The state is not divided on religious lines. But it is unfortunate that parties like the BJP and the Congress try to play nasty politics on religious lines. The indigenous organisations will not allow such politics in Assam. We have been forced to give the bandh call to profess our opposition to the Centre's decision," Ahmed said.

On the other hand, the BJP held a press conference in lower Assam's Dhubri to support the Centre's decision.

"This was the BJP's Lok Sabha poll promise. The decision will end the issue of Hindu D-voters who fled from Pakistan and Bangladesh following religious persecution," Dhubri district BJP president Dipak Kumar Saha told reporters this evening.