CAA Protests Highlights: Delhi Protests Amid Police Vigil; Police Stop BJP Rally In WB’s Hooghly
Anti-CAA Protests Live Updates: Several cities witnessed demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act on Sunday, however mixed marches were witnessed in Mumbai and a massive pro-CAA rally was staged in Bengaluru.
In Delhi, protesters staged widespread demonstrations, against the citizenship law even as police maintained a strict vigil, and carried out flag march in sensitive areas.
Earlier, in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at length on the contentious law and the prevailing unrest in the country around the issue. He clarified that the CAA is not meant for Indian citizens but for the refugees from the minority communities in Muslim-majority neighbours like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. He cornered the opposition over the CAA and gave a clear indication about the BJP's firm intentions on going forward with the law.
Meanwhile, in North East, curfew was lifted from Shillong , a day after the state government restored mobile internet services across the state.
Curfew was also relaxed for 12 hours from dawn-to-dusk in Karnataka's violence-hit Mangaluru where uneasy calm prevailed for the third day, police said on Sunday.
The CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and came to India on or before December 31, 2014.
Scroll down to see highlights of the day.
On a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a mega rally in the city, the national capital witnessed widespread protests against the citizenship law even as police maintained a strict vigil and carried out flag march in sensitive areas.
On Sunday, peaceful protests were held in several areas, including Jantar Mantar, Jamia Millia Islamia, Nizammudin, Alaknanda and Connaught Place.
A large number of people hit the streets and took out a 'solidarity march' in South Delhi in support of Jamia students and those facing police action during protests against the contentious law. Holding placards, people shouted 'Inquilab Zindabad' and demanded scrapping of the law during the march in Alaknanda area. A group of Jamia students also participated in the protest.
In Seelampur, which was rocked by violent protests against the new legislation, and neighbouring areas, the Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel again carried out flag march.
(PTI)
Tension broke out in West Bengal's Hooghly and South Dinjapur districts after processions brought out by the BJP backing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were stopped by the police on Sunday.
The police claimed the processions had to be stopped as they were being taken out without permission.
In Uttarpara, BJP workers scuffled with the police after their procession was obstructed soon after it began. Later, the BJP activists blocked the Grand Trunk Road.
(IANS)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comment defending CAA that caste and religion were not criteria for the Centre's schemes, saying emotional outbursts were not enough and that the latter needs to prove his words with deeds.
Referring to Modi's speech in Delhi, the Chief Minister said that the Prime Minister's assurance 'sounds hollow' because Union Home Minister Amit Shah had contradicted the claim.
Amid the plan by 35 Left and Muslim groups to hold protest on Monday, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said here on Sunday there was no ban on demonstrations linked to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
‘Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc) will not be in place across the city,’ said Rao. Section 144 was announced from 6 a.m. Thursday to Saturday midnight.
However, in the light of the protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), there could be traffic restrictions and diversions several parts of the city, he said.
Internet services to remain suspended in Prayagraj till 24th December, while as per the District Administration of Firozabad, internet services will remain suspended in the district till 8 pm tomorrow (23rd December).
All schools in city area of Aligarh district to remain closed on 23rd December.
After the Centre downgraded his security cover from the National Security Guard (NSG) to Z-plus to CRPF, Assam's former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Sunday lambasted at the Centre, saying the step was taken due to his stern opposition to the anti-people policies including the new the citizenship law.
‘My national security guard NSG cover was withdrawn by the Centre for protesting against the Centre's anti-people policies, particularly the Citizenship (Amendment) Act,’ said Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Mahanta at a press conference here.
He further alleged that the security cover provided to him was curtailed in this manner due to ‘pressure mounted by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and the leadership of the AGP.’
NSG cover was accorded to Mahanta in 1997 after the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) militants made an abortive bid on his life. It was withdrawn in 2017, following which he moved the Guwahati High Court, which restored his security cover. (ANI)
(IANS)
Curfew was lifted here on Sunday, a day after the state government restored mobile internet services across the state. The prohibitory orders were imposed on December 11, following violent protests against the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
A Meghalaya Home Department official said due to absolute normalcy here as well as in the state, District Magistrate of East Khasi Hills Matsiewdor War Nongbri lifted the curfew from the two police station areas -- Lumdiengjri and Sadar -- in the capital.
People of different communities were visiting markets, shops and shopping malls in the state to buy essentials as well as Christmas goodies and gifts.
Offices, hotels, houses and streets have been decorated with Christmas lights and festoons in the Christian-dominated state.
The Meghalaya Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution requesting the Centre to promulgate the inner line permit (ILP) regulation in the state to keep it out of the CAA purview.
Several agitating organisations have welcomed the state government's move.
Thousands of people staged a sit-in demonstration on Sunday in support of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
In contrast to earlier protests, the CAA support rally on Sunday featured several people sporting saffron apparel and flags, along with the tri-colour and placards in Hindi and English.
Some of the placards read, 'It's now or never. #save India', 'I support CAA', and 'CAA is secular'. A huge flexi banner read 'India supports CAA'.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao had imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) from 6 a.m. on Thursday to Saturday midnight in view of the shutdown call by social and student organisations.
(PTI)
Forty-eight people have been arrested and 67 shops sealed in connection with violent protests here last week during which several persons, including over a dozen policemen, were injured and vehicles gutted, officials said on Sunday.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Saharanpur Range) Upendra Agrawal said that two cases, naming 262 people, have been registered for rioting in Balwa area.
While one case (against 105 people) has been registered at the Kotwali Police Station, another naming 157 people has been registered at the Civil Lines Police Station, he told PTI.
Curfew imposed in some parts of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh after violence during Friday protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act was on Sunday relaxed for seven hours from 1pm, police said.
Curfew was imposed on Friday in four police station areas in Jabalpur after protesters pelted stones, clashed with police and indulged in destruction of property, an official said.
These areas are part of Gohalpur, Hanumantal, Kotwali and Adhartal police stations.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi made an unscheduled visit to Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday and met the families of the two persons killed in the recent violence over the new citizenship law.
Congress sources said that she visited Nehtaur area of the district to meet the families of Anas and Suleman, who were killed in the recent violence over protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
She also met the family members of Omraj Saini, who was allegedly shot at by the police and is presently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Meerut.
‘People have died in an unprecedented incident which should be probed into. I have come to know that the family members of the victims were harrassed when they went to lodge FIRs against the police. Also, the CAA is anti-people, anti-poor. Those who are living here for centuries will now be asked for papers,’ Priyanka Gandhi said.
The Congress General Secretary also interacted with the people in the area.
BJP working president J P Nadda on Sunday questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's ‘silence’ on raging violence and the damage caused to public property during anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in the country.
Nadda also questionned Rahul Gandhi's ‘limited intellect and knowledge’ about the new citizenship law and dared him to speak ‘even ten lines’ on its provisions.
Addressing a ‘BJP thanksgiving’ programme in Indore in Madhya Pradesh for enacting the CAA, Nadda said he wanted Rahul Gandhi to ‘speak only ten lines’ on the provisions of the CAA, which is being opposed by the Congress.
‘I want to ask Rahul Gandhi to speak only ten lines on the CAA provisions. He should also speak only two lines on the provisions, which according to him are harming the country. It is very unfortunate that the people who come to lead the country do not even know the basics about CAA,’ Nadda said.
In an unprecedented move, the teachers, students and non-teaching staff of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have 'expelled' their Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor and Registrar S. Abdul Hamid.
Soon after the restoration of internet services in Aligarh on Sunday, the students and teachers released a statement announcing the expulsion.
The notice stated that the VC and Registrar are requested to vacate the VC lodge and Registrar's lodge by January 5, 2020, when AMU reopens.
The notice declared that the collective authority will boycott the university administration until the two resign and leave the campus.
This comes days after clashes took place between AMU students and UP Police amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act following which AMU was closed till January 5.
(PTI)
A four-member delegation of the All India Trinamool Congress was detained at the Lucknow airport on Sunday afternoon.
The delegation included former Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, former Lok Sabha MP Pratima Mondal and two sitting Rajya Sabha MPs, Abir Ranjan Biswas and Nadimul Haque.
They had arrived in Lucknow to meet the people and families of those impacted by the December 19 violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
(IANS)
Amid protests by students and civil society groups across the country, Muslim clerics who have supported the government on the Citizenship Amendment Act are being isolated within the community, both in Delhi and Lucknow.
On Friday, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, who supported the CAA saying the Act is not against the minorities and avoided mentioning it in the Friday sermon, looked helpless at the Jama Masjid ramparts while the crowd walked with Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad, who had come to show solidarity with the protesters.
Many in the crowd wondered why the Shahi Imam did not oppose the CAA during his Friday sermon.
Another cleric Kalbe Jawwad, who is from the Shia sect, has also not opposed the CAA. Now, he is being trolled on social media for taking the side of the government.
Around 500 members of Islamic outfits and scores of CPI(M) activists staged demonstrations here on Sunday as protests continued against the Citizenship Amendment Act in parts of Tamil Nadu.
While members of the Islamic outfits, including women, staged a protest holding placards in Chepauk, CPI(M) cadres distributed pamphlets in Thousand Lights area,.
Hindu Makkal Katchi RPT Makkal Katchi workers, led by their leader Arjun Sampath staged a demonstration, holding placards and party flags, at Vallurvarkotam area.
Protests were also held in Theni by members of some Islamic organisations.
In Madurai, activists of Campus Front of India and an Islamic outfit were booked for staging a protest against the CAA on Saturday without taking permission, police said
(PTI)
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said while addressing a rally in Jaipur: ‘I have said it with an open heart, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) & National Register of Citizens (NRC) are not going to be implemented in Rajasthan.’
'Modi ji you should listen, 9 states have said it. Even your partners Bihar CM & Odisha CM who supported you in Parliament are saying they won't implement NRC. You should understand public sentiment&announce neither NRC in its current form,nor CAA will be implemented', he said.
The death toll in the violence that occurred during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut two days ago rose to five, a senior police official said on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Mohsin, Aasif, Zahir, Aalim, all residents of Meerut, and Asif from Delhi, Inspector General Alok Singh said.
During the protests on Friday, protesters had torched vehicles and pelted stones at police, who used lathi charge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse mobs.
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The arch-political rivals in Kerala Vijayan and Chennithala from the Left and the Congress parties respectively had recently organised a joint protest against the CAA.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the ruling BJP on Sunday, alleging that the new citizenship law has been brought in to 'divert the attention' from the 'virtually destroyed' economy and rising unemployment.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said people were made to stand in line to withdraw cash during the demonetisation exercise and now they will have to stand in queue for their rights due to National Register of Citizens.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will lead a 'silent and peaceful' march against the new citizenship law in Jaipur later Sunday and said it will be attended by members of all communities and several political parties opposed to the legislation.
Mobile internet services have been suspended in Jaipur till 8 pm as a precautionary measure.
The BSP chief also blamed him of staging an 'arrest' in Delhi in an attempt to influence the upcoming assembly polls in the Union Territory.
Azad was taken into police custody while he was taking part in an anti-CAA protest march on Saturday and has been sent to 14-day judicial custody.
The BSP chief also blamed him of staging an 'arrest' in Delhi in an attempt to influence the upcoming assembly polls in the Union Territory.
Azad was taken into police custody while he was taking part in an anti-CAA protest march on Saturday and has been sent to 14-day judicial custody.
In a press statement, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said that Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh should not be excluded from the provision of the new law.
Badal said that he had made it clear in Parliament and continued to uphold the view that Muslims should not be excluded from the CAA in keeping with democratic and secular principles as well as the message of Guru Sahiban who preached welfare of all.
The SAD is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and had supported the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) in Parliament but had questioned the exclusion of the community.
Amid ongoing nation-wide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Samajwadi Party MLA Amitabh Bajpai said that the democracy in the country has come to an end.
Amid ongoing nation-wide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Samajwadi Party MLA Amitabh Bajpai said that the democracy in the country has come to an end.
Stating that this will be a long-drawn fight, the Hyderabad MP appealed to people to ensure peace for the struggle to succeed.
A special drive has been launched to nab miscreants resorting to violence and pelting stones on police during protests, they said.
More than 65 people have been arrested and FIRs registered against 350 anti-social elements, Senior Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Singh told PTI.
An FIR has been also lodged against former Loni MLA Zakir Ali, he added.
Singh said miscreants have been identified and will be arrested soon.
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