Protests, often violent, have swept the country since the citizenship law was passed last week.
Highlights
- Police in over 10 cities haven't given permission to hold protests
- Much of protest against citizenship law in north-east, West Bengal
- Ramachandra Guha detained in Bengaluru, Yogendra Yadav in Delhi
Three persons died and several were injured as protests swept at least 10 states against the Centre's new law on citizenship. Permission for the protest was denied in almost all states but the protesters defied the police and a lockdown across Uttar Pradesh, parts of Delhi, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. In Mangaluru, where curfew has been declared, two persons died in police firing and 20 policemen were injured. In Lucknow, one person died and three others were injured. In Delhi, hundreds including activists and opposition leaders, were temporarily taken into custody. The Delhi-Haryana border was sealed for eight hours, 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.
Following are the top 10 developments in this story:
Protests were held in 13 major cities around the country on the eighth day of unrest over the new law that's emerging as the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government since his election in 2014. The law promises citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who moved to India by 2014. Critics say it challenges the foundations of India's secular constitution by making religion a criterion for citizenship.
Amid the protests, BJP working president JP Nadda, after a meeting with Sikh refugees from Afghanistan, asserted that the "Citizenship Amendment Act will be implemented, and so will the National Register of Citizens in future".
In Delhi, the police temporarily took into custody protesters who were making their way to the iconic Red Fort and Mandi House -- the two protest venues. Opposition leaders including D Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Nilotpal Basu, Brinda Karat, Ajay Maken, Sandeep Dikshit and activists Yogendra Yadav and Umar Khalid, were among those detained.
Traffic was diverted and 20 metro stations were shut as a precautionary measure. Voice, internet and SMS services were snapped in parts of Delhi, including the Walled City areas of north and central districts, Mandi House, Seelampur, Jaffarbad, Mustafabad, Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh and Bawana as well as at ITO, where many newspapers have their offices.
With busloads of protesters trying to enter Delhi from Gurgaon in neighbouring Haryana, the police sealed the border, triggering a huge traffic jam. People going to the airport were stuck and more than 15 flights were delayed. The barricades were removed after nearly 8 hours.
In Mangaluru, two persons died in police firing, the city police confirmed. Curfew has been declared in the city till Saturday and mobile internet suspended for the next 48 hours. During the day, the police opened fire as the protesters and police clashed.
Largescale violence took place in Uttar Pradesh, where prohibitory orders banning large gatherings were announced this morning. The police used batons to quell protests at the protest site in Lucknow, where nearly 10 vehicles were set ablaze, and in the Walled City. Mobile internet services have been suspended in parts of Lucknow. A bus was burned at Sambhal. A protest also took place in Varanasi, the constituency of PM Modi.
Around 30,000 people took part in the protest at Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan and in Chennai, though the police had refused permission for it. Actor-politician Kamal Haasan has asked the city police "not to stifle the voice of democracy".
In Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dared the ruling BJP to go for a UN-monitored referendum on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Registry of Citizens. Addressing PM Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah, Ms Banerjee said, "Just because you are majority, you can't do just about anything".
The Congress said the BJP should be ashamed of the police action. "This government has no right to shut down colleges, telephones & the Internet, to halt metro trains and to impose #Section144 to suppress India's voice & prevent peaceful protests. To do so is an insult to India's soul," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
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