Amit Shah will now be in Jharkhand tomorrow and on Monday
Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Shillong, Meghalaya, on Sunday, has been cancelled, sources in the Home Ministry have said, amid raging protests over the Citizenship Act. He will also not visit Arunachal Pradesh on Monday.
Amit Shah was scheduled to visit the North-East Police Academy in Shillong for the passing out parade. The next day, he was supposed to visit Tawang for a festival.
According to sources, the Home Minister will visit Jharkhand on Saturday and Monday to campaign for ongoing elections.
Northeastern states have been engulfed in violent protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which enables Indian citizenship for non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India before 2015.
In escalating violence, the police used tear gas and lathi-charge on protesters who reportedly threw stones at them.
Mobile internet services have been suspended across Meghalaya for the next 48 hours.
Two people were killed in police firing in Assam on Thursday, where thousands of protesters defied curfew. The army has been patrolling districts across Assam.
The citizenship act says Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian refugees can apply for Indian citizenship after living in India for five years instead of 11 years earlier.
Northeastern states fear the law will lead to legitimizing of immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and change the demographics of the region.
Amid the protests, three high profile visits have been cancelled. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was to attend a summit in Assam's Guwahati next week, has cancelled his visit. Two Bangladesh ministers have also called off their visit.