Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 Protests in Assam, Tripura, Guwahati, Northeast Today: Protests against the citizenship law in Guwahati. (File)
Citizenship Amendment Act protests today Highlights: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held an emergency meeting with senior officers of the state administration and police forces on Sunday night and directed them to remain on high alert, amid incidents of violence in the state, PTI reported. In the about-two-hour-long meeting at her Kalighat residence, Banerjee directed the officials to take strict action against those indulging in vandalism, an official said.
Meanwhile, two more people protesting against the amended Citizenship Act in Assam succumbed to injuries on Sunday.Ā The deceased were identified as Ishwar Nayak and Abdul Alim. Both of them suffered bullet injuries due to police firing during clashes in Guwahati on Thursday, a senior official of the Guwahati Medical College told The Indian Express. With this, the total death toll in the state rose to five in the state. Two people died in police firing on Thursday, while another succumbed to his injuries after an oil tanker was set on fire on Saturday.
Taking a u-turn after voting in support of the Citizenship Bill in the Rajya Sabha, BJP ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Sunday said it will move the Supreme Court against the contentious bill which was passed by both Houses. “We will not allow the CAB to be implemented in Assam. We will approach the SC against CAB,” Ramendra Kalita, senior AGP leader, told The Indian Express. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that their government is “committed to protect all genuine Indian citizens and the rights of the people of Assam.” Sonowal will also lead a team to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah soon to discuss the ongoing protests in the state.
The death toll in Assam, where protests against the new citizenship law led to clashes between protesters and security personnel last week, rose to five Sunday as two youths succumbed to their injuries in Guwahati. The family of Ishwar Nayak (25) alleged he was killed in police firing. He succumbed to a bullet injury he suffered during clashes in Guwahati on Thursday, a senior official of the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) told The Indian Express. Read full story
Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) organised a statewide protest march on Sunday night against police action on students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, who were protesting against the Citizenship Act. Protesters tried to break a police barricade while raising slogans in support of the students of the two universities. Police used water cannons on the protesters.
Activist Akhil Gogoi, whose Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) is one of the key organisations behind protests against the new citizenship law, has been booked by the NIA on charges of sedition and under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly being an overground worker of the banned CPI (Maoist). In the FIR lodged on Saturday, the agency alleged that Gogoi and several others, “through their visible representation and spoken words… have abetted, incited hatred and caused disaffection towards the government…” Read more
VIOLENT PROTESTS against the new citizenship law Sunday spilled over to a third day in West Bengal, where protesters vandalised at least 15 railway stations and two local trains, and blocked roads across the state. And in Assam, where the protests first began last week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against activist Akhil Gogoi, whose Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) has been steering the agitation, for alleged links to Maoists. Gogoi was arrested in Jorhat last week. Read the full story
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday summoned the West Bengal chief secretary and the director general of police to brief him on the situation following violent protests in the state against the amended citizenship law. The two senior officials have been called to Raj Bhawan Monday morning, Dhankhar wrote on his Twitter handle. (PTI)
"The students are the future of this country. Students are here to raise voice against injustice. How can police enter the campus without permission of the Vice-Chancellor? I have come here as a former student of DU as what has happened is wrong. The police cannot file FIR against students. Videos show how police entered the bathrooms of the campus. We will not let happen. I think this action is inhuman. The norm is to take permission of the administration. Students who were studying in the library were beaten mercilessly," questions ex-Lok Sabha member, Kirti Azad.
As protests against the Citizenship Act continued in several parts of the country, over 3,500 people including prominent personalities from different walks of life gathered together in Bengaluru to express dissent against the new law. The Karnataka capital has been witnessing several protests since the Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha last week as the same continued to take place in Sir Puttana Chetty Town Hall on Sunday as well. Read more
About a dozen policemen were injured as a group of unidentified protesters marching against the NRC and the citizenship law clashed with the police and later torched a police picket and about 10 motorcycles, four of which belonged to mediapersons. As there was no prior permission for the procession, the police tried to stop them. Over 50 protesters started pelting stones, injuring a dozen policemen. Patna District Magistrate Kumar Ravi said: “Police had to use teargas and mild force to disperse the mob. We are seeing CCTV footage to identify protesters.”
TISS students protest against atrocities on Jamia, AMU students.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held an emergency meeting with senior officers of the state administration and police forces on Sunday night and directed them to remain on high alert, amid incidents of violence in the state.
In the about-two-hour-long meeting at her Kalighat residence, Banerjee directed the officials to take strict action against those indulging in vandalism, an official said. (PTI)
Manipur police Sunday warned people of action if they support a general strike called by four Left-leaning political parties in Manipur on December 19 against the amended Citizenship Act. The development comes three days after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh issued a similar warning against protestors using violence during the protest.
Clay Khongsai, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zone-I, said the proposed 12-hour strike is going to give a lot of inconveniences to the people of the state, particularly to the students who are staying outside. Read more
The Delhi Police on Sunday evening entered the campus of Jamia Millia University after protests against Citizenship Act turned violent in South Delhi. They resorted to tear gas shelling and lathicharge inside the campus after tensions erupted in Sarai Juleina and Mathura Road earlier in the day. According to police, four buses were allegedly set on fire after which four fire engines were pressed to service to douse the flames.
JNU teachers' association (JNUTA) condemned the entry of the police in Jamia campus. In a statement, the body said, 'The JNUTA condemns the unauthorised entry of the Delhi Police into the Jamia Millia Islamia campus and the orgy of violence inflicted by them across the campus on students and others. The alleged incidents of arson outside the University by unknown miscreants provide no justification for the police excesses against hundreds of students who have been engaged in a peaceful protest.'
Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha on Sunday criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his party, JD(U), for supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in both the Houses of Parliament and paving the way for it to become a law.
Kushwaha, former Union minister, said the ruling JD(U) has become BJP's 'B' team by supporting the legislation.
"My elder brother Nitish Kumar is in quandary. He met the Assamese delegation on the issue. He went to Assam and opposed the CAB. But JD(U) has surrendered to BJP in Parliament on the issue and become 'B' team of the saffron party," Kushwaha said while addressing a function organised here by RLSP's youth wing to commemorate the death anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. (PTI)
This is the conflict between two ideologies - one that divides India on the basis of religion and our ideology that wants to celebrate the diversity of India: Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Gowda at India Against CAA protests in Bengaluru.
This country was founded on the principle of diversity. We want democracy, we want pluralism: Author and historian Ramchandra Guha says during India Against CAA protests in Bengaluru.
BJP MLA Himata Biswa Sarma, said, 'Day curfew will be withdrawn completely in Guwahati from Monday, December 16, 2019 as the city is limping back to normalcy. However curfew during nights, from 9 pm to 6 am, will continue for the time being.'
According to Delhi Fire Service, students of Jamia Millia Islamia University blocked the way of one of the fire tenders and damaged it. Two firemen were also injured in the violence, they said. Follow LIVE Updates
The director of the Malayalam language film 'Sudani from Nigeria', which bagged the national award for the best Malayalam film in 2018, on Sunday announced on Facebook that he, along with the film's screenplay writer and the producers, would stay away from the presentation ceremony in New Delhi as a mark of protest against the Citizenship Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The bill, which was enacted by Parliament last week and given assent by the President, was introduced by the BJP-led NDA to give citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan fleeing religious persecution. The Act has been widely criticized for its discriminatory nature against Muslims.
Delhi Traffic Police have alerted that Mathura Road opposite New Friends Colony, both carriageways, have been blocked by demonstrators.
Protests erupted in Jamia Nagar again. Students of Jamia Millia Islamia University and locals protested at Jamia Nagar in Delhi on Sunday against the amended Citizenship Act. Delhi Traffic Police tweeted that vehicle movement was closed from Okhla Underpass to Sarita Vihar due to the demonstration.
Panun Kashmir, an organisation of Kashmiri migrant pandits, on Sunday welcomed the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in both houses of parliament and said that the "entire nation stands wholeheartedly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi". "The passing of CAB by parliament is a resolve to ensure complete politico-cultural decolonisation of India. Decolonising Indian mind is a critical necessity for national integration," PTI reported Convener of Panun Kashmir, Agnishekhar, as saying.
In the video clip, the SSP is seen repeatedly appealing to students, protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, to keep calm and not to break the law. "You have a right to protest, but this protest has to be within the limits of democratic freedom. If you break these limits, then I too have the right to protect the law of the land. If you remain peaceful, I will stand by you," SSP Kulhari is heard telling the crowd after clambering over a police barricade, reported PTI.
A video clip showing the Aligarh senior superintendent of police clambering over a barricade and successfully persuading a highly charged around 5,000 protesters at the Aligarh Muslim University to keep calm last Friday has gone viral on social media here.
According to PTI, The clip vividly shows how precarious the condition was that day "and how deft and firm handling can defuse even a touch-and-go situation", said Rahat Abrar, a senior AMU official, who was present close by when Aligarh SSP Akash Kulhari walked unarmed into the crowd of protestors despite opposition from his aides.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Jharkhand's Dumka to address an election rally said the people of Northeast have rejected violent agitation and are now protesting peacefully against amended Citizenship Act, PTI reported.
On Sunday, internet services were suspended in five districts of West Bengal too, a senior government official said. According to the official, despite government's appeal to not involve in any kind of violence, certain communal forces are active to spread violence across the state Hence, the government has decided to cut internet services in Malda, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and parts of South 24 Parganas districts to prevent the spread of rumours and circulation of fake news across social media.
Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), an alliance partner of ruling BJP, said on Sunday that it would file a petition in the Supreme Court praying for revocation of the amended Citizenship Act, party leader Kumar Deepak Das said.
'We will take the legal route to seek revocation of the amended Act as the indigenous people of Assam are apprehensive that their identity, language might come under threat,' Das, a former Rajya Sabha MP, told PTI.
Bengal BJP delegation on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the law and order situation in the state, amid violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act. The delegation, led by party state general secretary Biswapriya Roy Chowdhury, met Modi at Andal airport in Paschim Bardhaman district where he had a stopover on his way to Jharkhand's Dumka for an election rally. "We had a very short time. But we briefed him about the ongoing violence and arson in the state for the last three days. We have told PM Modi, how the state government is doing nothing to control the situation," PTI quoted Roy Chowdhury as saying.
The curfew, that was imposed in parts of Shillong amid violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act, was relaxed from 6 am to 7 pm on Sunday, PTI quoted officials as saying. The curfew was relaxed for 13 hours in areas under the jurisdictions of Sadar and Lumdiengiri police stations, PTI reported.
The truck driver, who died on Saturday when protesters set ablaze a fuel tanker he was driving, was identified by relatives and officials as Azizur Ali, aged 48. Ali was said to be a resident of Sipajhar in Darrang district of Assam. A neighbour, speaking to The Indian Express, said that Ali, an Assamese Muslim, is survived by his daughter and wife. His son died in an accident a year back.
A second protester succumbed to bullet injuries in Assam on Sunday, taking the death toll to five in the state since Thursday. The deceased was identified as Abdul Alam.
"All long-distance trains, except intercity and passenger trains, in Assam are plying from today. Stranded passengers at the Guwahati railway station have been able to board these trains today," says Subhanan Chanda, Chief PRO, Northeast Frontier Railway zone.
“We will not allow the CAB to be implemented in Assam. We will approach the SC against CAB. A party delegation will soon go to meet the PM and the HM to urge them reconsider CAB. And we also appeal to the government that any decision on CAB, should be taken only after talking to leading organisations like the AASU, AJYCP and others," Ramendra Kalita, senior AGP leader, told The Indian Express. “We had never supported the CAB but yes our RS MP voted for it — that raised several questions in people’s mind. But the BJP have a majority — they would have passed CAB even if we had voted against it. But we have clarified our stand now,” Kalita added.
In the ongoing Citizenship Amendment Act protests going on in Assam, one more protester succumbed to bullet injuries on Sunday. With this, the death toll has risen to four in the state. The deceased was identified as Ishwar Nayak, who suffered a bullet injury during clashes in Guwahati on Thursday, a senior official of the Guwahati Medical College told The Indian Express. Earlier on Thursday, two protesters, Dipanjal Das and Sam Stafford, were killed in police firing.
JD(U) vice president Prashant Kishor said on Saturday that party chief Nitish Kumar is against the nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise planned by the central government. JD(U) national spokesperson K C Tyagi confirmed that the party — a BJP ally that backed the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in Parliament — had “officially” decided to “say no to NRC”. The JD(U) is the first BJP ally to come out openly against the NRC. Read more
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Howrah districts of West Bengal which is witnessing protests against the amended Citizenship Act, police said on Sunday. Protesters blocked various important roads in Amdanga and Kalyani areas of North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts. They also blocked roads and railway tracks in various stations of the districts, the police said. In Domjur area of Howrah district, protesters organised road blockades and shouted slogans against the Narendra Modi government. A huge police contingent has been rushed to the spot to control the situation. (PTI)
Varanasi police have ordered a probe against a station house officer (SHO) after a video showed him purportedly abusing and threatening a group of people who were protesting against the new citizenship law and the proposed implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on Friday. The officer has been identified as Shashi Bhushan Rai, SHO of Jaitpura police station in Varanasi. In the purported video, the protesters are heard telling policemen that they are holding a peaceful protest against the new law and NRC. “If you have to protest, do it at home. How come you are on the road?… Does the road belong to your father?… You don’t know me. Your whole family will be ruined,” SHO Rai allegedly says. “The new law will be implemented,” he allegedly says. Read here
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal focused on secularism and federalism while delivering his speech at Amritsar’s Teja Singh Samundri Hall, on the 99th foundation day of the party, after he was re-elected for the third time. Speaking from the headquarters of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the former deputy chief minister said genuine federalism and secularism were the cornerstones of SAD. The Ferozepur MP said that under which the rights of minorities should be safeguarded. He said it was with this in mind that he had earlier stated that Muslims should be brought under the purview of the Citizen Amendment Bill. Read more
Assam sees it as ‘betrayal’, Tripura — a return to its violent past. Months after it swept the Lok Sabha polls and in power in the two states for the first time, BJP is facing a backlash over CAB in these states. How did the state government not anticipate it and what are the challenges ahead? Read here
The BJP on Saturday blamed the ruling TMC for violence against the new citizenship law and the NRC and said President’s Rule may be imposed if the situation did not improve in the state. “The state is burning due to TMC. If it continues like this, then the Centre will be left with no option but to impose President’s Rule. We would seek the imposition of President’s rule in the state,” BJP leader Rahul Sinha said at a press conference in Kolkata. Read more
To support ongoing protests against the new citizenship law in Assam and other northeastern states, the Assamese community in Pune urged people to come forward with appeals asking the government to protect the interests of the residents of the Assam valley. Asomi, an organisation that provides assistance to the Assamese community in the city, held a press conference on Saturday, where it voiced its opinion. “We are here to express our solidarity with the people of Assam,” said Col (Retd) Tarun C Bora, adviser, Asomi. “We appeal to the central and state governments to take concrete steps so that the concerns of the Assamese community, their identity, their culture, and religious affinity are protected,” Col Bora said. Read more
The curfew imposed in Guwahati and parts of Dibrugarh district following protests against the amended Citizenship Act was relaxed on Sunday, police said. Curfew was relaxed from 9 am to 6 pm in Guwahati. It was also relaxed from 7 am to 4 pm in Dibrugarh west, Naharkatia, Tenughat and some other places in the district from 7 am to 4 pm, officials said. Long queues were seen outside shops at several places, including Dispur, Uzan Bazar, Chandmari, Silpukhuri and Zoo Road in Guwahati town. Auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws were plying across the city. Petrol pumps in the city have also opened with vehicles waiting in lines to refuel. Police are using loudspeakers to inform the public about the relaxation, he added. (PTI)
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that their government is “committed to protect all genuine Indian citizens and the rights of the people of Assam.”