Citizenship Act Protest Highlights: Internet Suspended In Parts Of UP, Karnataka As Protests Continue

Delhi police conduct flag march, area domination amid continued protests
In order to maintain law and order, police carried out flag march and area domination exercise in Delhi on Thursday. Police also held peace committee meetings in several parts of Delhi as a confidence-building measure.

It came in the backdrop of protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in various parts of the national capital.

Police officials including senior officers visited several areas, interacted with people and urged them to maintain peace in North East, Shahdara and South Delhi among other districts of the national capital.

Internet services suspended in Meerut, Bareilly
Internet services have been suspended in Meerut and Bareilly following the violent protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act in the state.

In Meerut, the administration has snapped the services on Thursday evening which will remain imposed till Friday evening, while in Bareilly internet has been suspended till December 21.

Curfew extended to entire Mangalore City Commissionarate
Curfew being extended to entire Mangaluru City Commissionerate from 6 pm today till midnight on 22nd, an official said. Previously it was imposed in 5 police station limits only.

Mobile internet suspended in Ghaziabad for 24 hours
Mobile internet services have been suspended in Ghaziabad for 24 hours from 10 pm on Thursday in view of violent protests against the new citizenship law in parts of Uttar Pradesh, an official said.

The action has been taken to avoid the spread of hate messages on social media with an aim to disturb the communal peace and harmony, the official said.

District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pande has instructed mobile phone service providers to suspend internet services till 10 pm on Friday, the official said.

The district magistrate has taken this action to thwart any possibility of violence and arson in the district, he added.

"Paranoid, insecure regime": Ramachandra Guha
Historian Ramachandra Guha, detained during protests in Bengaluru today over the citizenship law, said the enforcement of Section 144, a British-era ban on large gatherings, is the mark of a "paranoid, fearful and insecure" regime. He called it the "fourth or fifth" crisis the republic was going through since its independence.

"Shutting internet in Delhi? What signal will it send to the world? Is this a self-confident India," Ram Guha questioned, speaking to NDTV after his release around four hours later.

"The British viceroy did the same thing. Indira Gandhi did the same thing. The police thought if they pick up 15 people in Bengaluru they would be scared. There was absolutely no reason to impose Section 144 unless you are plain stupid."

The 61-year-old historian was at a protest at the Town Hall in Bengaluru speaking to the NDTV reporter when he was dragged mid-sentence by a group of policemen, detained and hauled into a bus.

BJP pulls out old video of Manmohan Singh speaking on Citizenship inn Rajya Sabha
Amid nationwide protests against the Citizenship Act, an old video of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaking in support of citizenship to minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh - as the new law promises - was circulated by BJP leaders on Thursday.

Dr Singh is heard saying: "While I am on this subject, Madam, I would like to say something, about the treatment of refugees. After the partition of our country, the minorities in countries like Bangladesh, have faced persecution, and it is our moral obligation that if circumstances force people, these unfortunate people, to seek refuge in our country, our approach to granting citizenship to these unfortunate persons should be more liberal."

Mamata Banerjee calls for "UN referendum on Citizenship Act if BJP has guts"
Amid the countrywide unrest over the centre's new citizenship law, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today dared the ruling BJP to go for a UN-monitored referendum on the matter. Addressing a huge rally in Kolkata -- part of a 10-city protest -- Ms Banerjee said, "If BJP has guts, it should go for a UN-monitored referendum on the amended Citizenship Act and NRC".

"If the BJP loses this mass vote, then it should step down from the government," she added.

Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minster Amit Shah, she said, "Let's have a vote. Just because you are majority, you can't do just about anything. You are terrorising all, the pillars of society".

1 dead in Lucknow from "alleged firearm injury" amid protests
At least one person died in Lucknow on Thursday from what the police called "alleged firearm injury" during violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The police cracked down on protesters using tear gas and batons after vandalism, arson and stone-throwing erupted during a demonstration in the Uttar Pradesh capital against the contentious law.

Anti-citizenship law protesters hurled stones and damaged police outposts and a number of vehicles mainly in the Old City areas of Lucknow, forcing the police to use tear-gas shells to control the situation.

The protesters torched a state-run bus at Parivartan Chowk, close to the district magistrate's office, and torched a police post in Satkhanda area.

AAP MLA announces Rs 5 lakh, job to student who lost eye in Jamia violence
AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan on Thursday announced Rs 5 lakh and a job at the Delhi Waqf Board to a Jamia student who suffered an eye injury during a protest against the amended Citizenship Act.

Amit Shah to chair meeting on nationwide protests against Citizenship Act
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a meeting to review the security situation in the country on Thursday evening amid violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, officials said. Massive protests against the contentious new law that promises citizenship to immigrants from neighbouring countries excluding Muslims have swept India culminating into clashes with law enforcement and crackdowns.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy and Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla are expected to attend the meeting. The tension in several parts of the country will be reviewed threadbare by the Home Ministry in the meeting, the officials said.

Anurag Kashyap On Citizenship Act Protests: This Is An Egoistic, Uneducated, Scared Government
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on Thursday came down heavily on authorities trying to clamp down protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, saying that it showed a "scared, egoistic, uneducated" government that wanted to cling on to power.

S Jaishankar, In US, Shares Centre's View On New Citizenship Law
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is in the US, has shared India's perspective on the amended citizenship law with members of American Congress, the ministry said on Thursday.

India Muzzles Citizenship Law Protests: Foreign Media
Indian authorities on Thursday clamped down on demonstrations against a contentious citizenship law, invoking a measure to prohibit public gatherings in two states and parts of the nation's capital, together home to more than 260 million people.

Citizenship Amendment Act Protests: India vs Lockdown. Protesters Detained In Delhi, Bengaluru - 10 Points
Thousands hit the streets across at least 10 states -- defying a lockdown across Uttar Pradesh, parts of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi -- in protest against the Centre's new law on citizenship. Permission for the protest was denied in almost all states. In Delhi, hundreds of protesters, activists and opposition leaders were temporarily taken into custody as they defied a law banning large gatherings. The Delhi-Haryana border was sealed - hitting road traffic and delaying flights. Over 100 people were temporarily detained in Bengaluru along with historian Ramchandra Guha, who was dragged away by the police in the middle of a television interview. In Lucknow and Ahmedabad, protesters clashed with the police. Curfew was declared in Mangaluru, where the police had opened fire. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will review the security situation in the country, officials said.

Protesters march in Jaipur against Citizenship Act
Thousands of people belonging to the Left parties, lawyers fraternity, CIPU, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), civil society, teachers, professors, and many other organisations came together to take out a massive protest march against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Jaipur on Thursday, while the BJP announced that it will rally in support of the Act on Friday.

On Thursday, the protest march by the CPI, CPI(M), advocates, CIPU, PUCL was peaceful unlike in other states and there was no detention of any protester.

The march, which started from Khasa Kothi in Jaipur culminated at the district collectorate, where slogans were raised asking the government to rollback the new Act. Five representatives amongst the protesters presented a memorandum addressed to the President of India to the collector.

Sanjay Madhav from the CPI-M said, "The protest was taken out to save the Constitution and Democracy. The BJP, in order to save its face on real issues, has tried to divert attention by dividing the nation between Hindus and Muslims and we will not let that happen," he told IANS.

Roundup on places which saw massive protests against Citizenship Act across country
Protests broke out in several parts of the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Here are the major trouble spots:

DELHI:

Red Fort - Hundreds of protestors were dragged into buses by police in an attempt to clear the area where Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed which restricts gathering of more than four people. Swaraj Abhiyan President Yogendra Yadav and student leader Umar Khalid are among those detained. Yogendra Yadav has now been released.

Mandi House - Left leaders, including Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Nilotpal Basu and Brinda Karat, were detained.

Jantar Mantar - Hundreds of flag-waving students and activists converged here after protesters were evicted from Mandi House and Red Fort.

UTTAR PRADESH:

Lucknow - Protesters pelted stones and torched vehicles parked outside a police post. Police fired tear-gas shells to control the situation in Madeyganj area. About 20 people have been taken into custody.

Sambhal - A state-run bus was set on fire and another was damaged. Some protesters pelted stones at a police station. Internet services have been suspended here,

BIHAR:

Patna - Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) workers vandalised buses and cars, burnt tyres on roads to obstruct the movement of vehicles and squatted on railway tracks. Activists belonging to pro-Left student bodies such as AISF and AISA stormed the Rajendra Nagar Terminus and squatted on tracks disrupting the movement of trains for about half an hour.

Jehanabad - CPI(ML) activists staged a roadblock on Kako More, disrupting traffic on national highways NH 110 and 83.

KARNATAKA:

Bengaluru - Hundreds of people, including writer and historian Ramachandra Guha, were detained. Mr Guha has now been released.

Mangaluru - Protests turned violent with demonstrators hurling stones at police personnel leading to a lathi-charge.

TELANGANA:

Hyderabad - Protesters, including students, were taken into preventive custody.

WEST BENGAL:

Kolkata - Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed a rally in Kolkata's Rani Rashmoni Avenue. Left parties organised a march from Ramlila Maidan to Park Circus.

GUJARAT:

Ahmedabad - Police baton-charged some protesters who gathered in the Sardar Baug area.

MAHARASHTRA:

Mumbai - Political party workers and students demonstrated at the historic August Kranti Maidan. Similar protests were organised in Nagpur and Pune.

People form human chain around muslims offering Namaz during protest in Delhi
Last Sunday, in contrast, a protest by students of Jamia Millia Islamia ended in a pitched battle with the police, with the cops entering the university and detaining students.

A video shared by ANI on Twitter shows some people standing shoulder to shoulder as others read namaz - an act of worship in Islam that is observed five times every day at prescribed times.

In Video, Karnataka Police Seen Opening Fire In Air During Protests In Mangaluru
Police personnel were seen firing in the air to disperse protesters against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Karnataka's Mangaluru on Thursday, when agitations broke out simultaneously across the country.

Restrictions on large gatherings had been placed over the entire state since the previous evening, with the BJP-led government denying student groups and activists permission to hold protests against the controversial law.

In video footage procured by NDTV, around four policemen in riot gear could be seen shooting in the air on what seemed like a deserted ground even as people stood watching from some distance. The action was reportedly taken to quell a crowd of protesters that was increasingly getting out of control.

British Council remained shut in Delhi today, cancelled book launch event
The British Council, UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, said it will remain closed on Thursday due to protests against the new citizenship law in parts of Delhi.

The closure has resulted in the cancelling of the book launch of "Forgotten Master: Indian Painting For the East Indian Company", edited by celebrated author-historian William Dalrymple.

In a statement, the council said they will be closed for the day due to the "protest happening in the close proximity" of their building and "in the interest of the safety of their customers and staff".

Delhi Police use drone to monitor protests against Citizenship Act
Delhi police used a drone to keep watch on protesters as they gathered to march against the amended citizenship law, from Red Fort in Old Delhi to Shaheed Park near ITO, on Thursday.

The police had denied permission to the left-backed AISA and the Swaraj Abhiyan to hold a march against the Citizenship Amendment Act from Red Fort, citing law and order issues.

A huge number of protesters were stopped at police barricades on Nishadraj Marg in Daryaganj, while trying to reach Red Fort. A drone hovered over them to record the happenings.

The protesters took to sloganeering, cheering and clapping as they spotted the drone.

"Drones are used to record happenings and in case of massive law and order situations, where things go out of hand, the recordings help in identifying those who cause a situation to go out of hand," a senior police officer said.

The protesters, mostly students and local residents, who gathered near the Sunehri Masjid after the police stopped them from moving towards Red Fort, rued that some political leaders were trying to hijack their protests.

Drones were also used by the police in the Seelampur area that witnessed violence and arson on Tuesday, to identify "miscreants", reported PTI.