Home Minister Amit Shah had defended the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in parliament
Home Minister Amit Shah has appealed to students protesting the new citizenship law to "study" the CAA, or Citizenship (Amendment) Act, saying "there is no provision to take away citizenship of any Indian". Mr Shah also warned protesting students they were being misled by the opposition for their political interest and blamed the Congress, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, where Assembly elections are due next year and the Trinamool Congress in Bengal, where elections are scheduled for 2021, for engendering violence and "creating an atmosphere of violence".
"Today, I want to appeal to the students from this forum that you study the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. There is no provision to take away citizenship of anyone. Congress, AAP and TMC are misleading you and creating atmosphere of violence in the country," Amit Shah claimed.
Mr Shah also said the CAA had been created to "give citizenship to religiously persecuted refugees".
In other firefighting efforts, on Sunday Mr Shah's Home Ministry moved to allay fears in the North East over an influx of Bangladeshi Hindu refugees after violent protests engulfed Assam and parts of the North East for a fourth consecutive day on Saturday.
Earlier on Monday Prime Minister Narendra Modi said violent protests around the citizenship law were "unfortunate and deeply distressing". The Prime Minister blamed it on "vested interests" - the Congress and the Left - he claimed were trying to mislead the nation.
"Violent protests on the Citizenship Amendment Act are unfortunate and deeply distressing. Debate, discussion and dissent are essential parts of democracy but, never has damage to public property and disturbance of normal life been a part of our ethos," PM Modi tweeted.
Protests by students and others have erupted across the country over the new citizenship law that makes it easier for non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to become Indian citizens. Critics say the law discriminates against Muslims and is against secular principles of the constitution.
The trouble started Sunday evening after a protest march by Jamia Millia Islamia students ended in a pitched battle with the police, vandalism and torching of vehicles. The police, who used batons and tear gas to contain the violence, later barged into the university and detained around 100 students. All the detained students were released around 3:30 am.