Amid various controversies and protests surrounding the new Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Congress in Madhya Pradesh has decided to hold a rally in Bhopal against the new bill and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Chief Minister Kamal Nath is expected to lead the rally which would start from Rang Mahal square and proceed towards Minto Hall.
Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to contradict Home Minister Amit Shah on the controversial subject at the core of protests across the nation, Mr Shah said there is no discussion on a nationwide National Register of Citizens right now. "There is no need to debate this (pan-India NRC) as there is no discussion on it right now, PM Modi was right, there is no discussion on it yet either in the Cabinet or Parliament," Amit Shah told news agency ANI on Tuesday.
On Sunday, PM Modi had said at a rally in Delhi that there was no talk of a nationwide rollout of the NRC. On Tuesday, nearly one lakh people took to the streets in Assam on Tuesday, the All Assam Students' Union has claimed; in what has been the biggest ever rally against the citizenship law.
Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which for the first time makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principals of the constitution.