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. Amit Shah was scheduled to visit the North-East Police Academy in Shillong. According to sources, the Home Minister will visit Jharkhand on Saturday and Monday to campaign for ongoing elections.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to India, which was scheduled to be held in Guwahati next week, has been postponed amid violent protests in the northeast over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. "Both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future," foreign ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. On Thursday, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and the country's Home Minister called off their visits to India in the midst of the agitations in the northeast.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, turning it into an Act. The contentious law promises citizenship to migrants from three neighbouring countries but not if they are Muslims.
The contentious act has seen massive protests in the Northeast, particularly in Assam, where two protesters were killed and many others injured in police firing on Thursday evening. Protests against the act has also gained momentum in neighbouring Meghalaya, forcing authorities to block mobile internet and SMS services across the state for two days. In order to maintain law and order in the northeast, 12 additional companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were moved from Kashmir on Thursday, news agency IANS reported quoting its sources.
Chief Minister of West Bengal, Kerala and Punjab have also said they will have nothing to do with the BJP-led centre's alleged attempts to strip the country of its secular credentials.
The act seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
Here are the updates on the developments around the Citizenship Amendment Act:
Due to public agitation following the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, train services in the Howrah-Kharagpur section were disrupted on Friday.
According to a press release, nearly 200 to 250 people obstructed the railway line at Ulubaria in protest against the contentious Act.
Seven trains, including the Yesvantpur-Howrah Duronto express and the Howrah-Chennai Coromondal express, have been detained.
Apart from this, 11 Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) local and passenger trains have been detained and controlled at various stations in the section.
People, agitating against the amended Citizenship Act, on Friday blocked tracks at the
Train services were affected in Sealdah division of the Eastern Railway on Friday, as people
around 30 km on the hilly terrain.
In view of the volatile situation in neighbouring Assam over the protests against the amended Citizenship Act, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday directed state officials to ensure strict checking of Inner Line Permits (ILP) in check gates across the
Amit Shah's Shillong Visit Cancelled Amid Citizenship Act ProtestsHome 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."
BREAKING: Home Minister Amit Shah's Shillong program cancelled. He was scheduled to visit Northeast Police academy on Sunday. He will be in Jharkhand tomorrow and on Monday.
Assam: All Assam Students' Union (AASU) holds protest in Guwahati against #CitizenshipAmendmentAct. pic.twitter.com/B7xzpywyME
- ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2019
The majority prevailed in Parliament. Now beyond judiciary, the task of saving the soul of India is on 16 Non-BJP CMs as it is the states who have to operationalise these acts.
- Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) December 13, 2019
3 CMs (Punjab/Kerala/WB) have said NO to #CAB and #NRC. Time for others to make their stand clear.
Amit Shah :
- Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) December 13, 2019
Our request:
1) Dowse fires , not play with fire
2) Make people feel secure not insecure
3) Build bridges not destroy them
Your duty : Unite the country not divide it
Think before you leap
Reflect before you sleep
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan declares that the state will not implement the blatantly unconstitutional Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. Hope more states will adopt this position.#CABBill2019 #CABAgainstConstitution
- Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) December 13, 2019
