In an interview with ANI’s Smita Prakash, Shah said, "CAA law will never be taken back. It is our sovereign right to ensure Indian citizenship in our country, we will never compromise on it."
“All opposition parties including Owaisi, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee are doing politics of lies. There is no question of timing. BJP said in its manifesto in 2019 that it would bring CAA and give citizenship to refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan...In 2019, it was passed by Parliament but got delayed due to Covid...The opposition wants to do appeasement politics and wants to consolidate their vote bank. They have been exposed and the people of the country know that CAA is the law of this country. I have said 41 times in the last 4 years that it would be implemented before the election," Shah told Prakash in the interview.
Speaking about Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's remark on CAA notification, Shah said, “The day is not far, when BJP will come to power there (West Bengal) and will stop infiltration. If you do this kind of politics and with such an important national security issue, you allow infiltration by doing appeasement politics and oppose the refugees from getting citizenship, then people will not be with you. Mamata Banerjee does not know the difference between a person taking refuge and an infiltrator."
Shah also targeted Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who had said giving citizenship to refugees will increase thefts and rapes. the Union Home Minister said, "The Delhi CM has lost his calm (aapa kho baithe hai) after his corruption was exposed. He does not know that all these people have already come and are living in India. If he is so concerned, then why doesn't he talk about Bangladeshi infiltrators or oppose the Rohingyas? He is doing vote bank politics... He has forgotten the background of partition and should meet the refugee families...”
"The people who were part of Akhand Bharat and who were persecuted or tortured should be given refuge in India and this is our moral and constitutional responsibility. When the partition happened there were 23% Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan but now only 3.7% of them are left. Where have they all gone? They have not returned here. They were converted, insulted, given second-class status. Where will they go? Will the Parliament not think about them? If I speak about Bangladesh, in 1951, the Hindu population was 22% but now as per the statistics, the Hindu population has been reduced to 10% in 2011. Where are they?" he added.
Shah reiterated there is no need for minorities or any other person to fear because there is no provision in CAA to take away anyone's citizenship. “CAA is only to give rights and citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Christians and Parsi refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan," he said.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, notified on Monday, endeavors to offer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants. This includes Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014. The rules now provide a framework for the application process for those eligible under CAA-2019.
The applicants can also submit any of 20 documents like copy of visa and immigration stamp on arrival in India, certificate issued by an elected member of any rural or urban body or a revenue officer to prove that he or she has entered India on or before December 31, 2014, according to the rules of the CAA issued on Monday.
The rules also state that the applicants will have to provide an eligibility certificate issued by a locally reputed community institution confirming that he or she belongs to either Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community and continues to be a member of that community.
The government on Monday implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, notifying the rules to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.
Now, Indian nationality will be given under the CAA to the persecuted non-Muslim migrants -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians -- from the three countries.
The applicants will have to give a declaration that they "irrevocably" renounce the existing citizenship and that they want to make make "India as permanent home".
The list of documents to prove that the applicant is a national of Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan are: copy of passport issued by the government of Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan, registration certificate or residential permit issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer or Foreigners Registration Officer in India, birth certificate issued by a government authority in Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan, school certificate or educational certificate issued by the school or college or board or university authorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan.
Other documents that will be acceptable include identity document of any kind issued by government of Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan or any other government authority or agency in these countries, any licence or certificate issued by a government authority of Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, land or tenancy records in Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan, any document that shows that either of the parents or grandparents or great grandparents of the applicant is or had been a citizen of one of the three countries i.e. Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan.
Any other document issued by a government authority or a government agency in Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan which will establish that the applicant is from Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan will also be acceptable.
The above documents will be admissible even beyond their validity period, the rules said.
List of documents to prove that the applicant has entered into India on or before December 31, 2014 are: copy of the visa and immigration stamp on arrival in India, registration certificate or residential permit issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer or Foreigners Registration Officer in India, slip issued by the census enumerators in India to such persons while conducting census related survey.
The applicants may also submit government issued licence or certificate or permit in India, including driving licence, Aadhaar card, ration card issued in India, any letter issued by the government or court to the applicant with official stamp, birth certificate of the applicant issued in India, land or tenancy records or registered rental agreement in India in the name of the applicant, PAN card issuance document bearing the date of issuance.
Any other document issued by the central government or state government or any public sector undertakings of central government or state government or any financial institutions like banks or any other public authority, certificate issued by an elected member of any rural or urban body or officer thereof or a revenue officer, record and account details relating to and issued by the banks (including private banks) or post office accounts in the name of the applicant.
Insurance policies issued in India, electricity connection papers or electricity bills or other utility bills, court or tribunal records or processes in India in respect of the applicant, document showing service or employment under any employer in India supported by employees provident fund/ general provident fund/ pension/ employees' state insurance corporation documents will be acceptable.
School leaving certificate of the applicant issued in India, academic certificate issued by a school or college or a board or a university or a government institution, municipality trade license issued to the applicant, marriage certificate will also be acceptable.
The above documents should have been issued by an Indian authority and will be admissible even beyond their validity period and the documents should establish that the applicant had entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
Northeast district police along with paramilitary forces also conducted patrolling in the sensitive area to maintain law and order situation.
“North-East district police personnel conducted extensive patrolling and checking in sensitive areas, along with paramilitary forces, for the security of civilians. Everyone is urged to adhere to the security instructions,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey wrote on X.
Tirkey said that 29 Aman Committee meetings were convened and we are endeavouring to dispel misconceptions about the CAA among the public.
"We have conducted a flag march for the last two days. I plan to deploy additional forces, likely starting tomorrow, to conduct more flag marches. A detailed list of criminals and troublemakers has been compiled, and they are under police surveillance," said the DCP.
"We are confident that the situation will remain peaceful. We are also monitoring social media, and necessary action will be taken," Tirkey added.
Heavy police personnel were also deployed in southeast Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area where on December 15, 2019, a protest began in response to the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on December 11, 2019.
The protest at Shaheen Bagh had lasted until March 24, 2020. The protest was led by women who blocked a major road at Shaheen Bagh.
As Shaheen Bagh was seeing the sitting protest, which included students from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), against CAA, Delhi witnessed one of its worst communal riots in the month of February 2020 which spread over 11 police stations of North-East District.
“These communal riots took place as the culminating high point of various sustained sit-in and roadblock (Chakka-Jaam) protests organised by seemingly amorphous but bonded by anti-CAA groups.
“Anti-CAA protests were also organised in the areas of Hauz Rani, Jama Masjid, Darya Ganj, Seelampur, Nabi Kareem, Shastri Nagar, Sadar Bazar etc. where substantial Muslim population resides,” as per police chargesheet in the court.
The riots started on February 23, 2020 and lasted till late night of February 25, 2020, causing the loss of 53 lives and damage to several public/private properties.
The areas which were badly affected by the communal riots were mainly covered in the 11 police stations of North-East District namely Jafrabad, Welcome, Seelampur, Bhajanpura, Jyoti Nagar, Karawal Nagar, Khajoori Khas, Gokal Puri, Dayalpur and New Usmanpur.
By the afternoon of February 24, 2020, full-scale riots broke out when violence was reported on the 66 Foota Road and Wazirabad Road and clashes spread to other areas, which continued till the night of 25th February.
“A total of 755 First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered during the Northeast riots and 400 cases were solved. Police had filed a charge sheet in 349 cases,” said police.
Canada embassy issued a travel advisory on Saturday for its citizens requesting them to avoid their trip to Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.
The embassy has also stated that internet and mobile communications have been temporarily suspended and transport facilities have also been affected in various parts of the northeast region.
People of these states are protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act for over a week now.
Earlier, the US government also warned its citizens against visiting the northeastern states of India due to the ongoing protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
Tens of thousands of protesters against CAB -- which has now become a law, have taken to the streets of northeast since Wednesday, clashing with police and plunging the region into chaos.
(IANS)
Addressing the Bharat Bachao rally here at Ramlila ground, Priyanka Gandhi said: "This law will become the reason for the division of the country. If we don't raise voice now, the country will be further divided. If you love the country, then raise your voice against it."
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka Gandi said, "Laws are being passed which are unconstitutional."
Mocking at the BJP government over its slogan of 'Modi hai to mumkin hai' (If Modi is there everything is possible), she said, "In newspapers or at bus stops, we see the advertisements that Modi hai to mumkin hai, but reality is that under Modi government, onion is selling at Rs 100 per kg, unemployment is at 45-year high, economy is in doldrums, Navratna PSUs are being sold, Indian Railways is being privatised and 15,000 farmers have committed suicide. This is possible under the Modi government only."
Evoking her father's memory while talking about Unnao rape victim, who was burnt alive by the rape accused, Priyanka said, "The blood of the Unnao daughter has mixed with the country, much like my father's blood," she said.
She also hit out at the government over the economic crisis and said that in six years of Modi government, the economy has only gone downward.
"Our economy was developing at a rate that the world turned their attention to, but in six years of Modi government, our economy has tanked, people are losing jobs, factories are shutting down," she said.
The protest rally comes amid an economic slowdown and raging protests across the northeast and in West Bengal over the Citizenship Amendment Act.
(IANS)
Hundreds of people protesting against the amended Citizenship Act since morning had blocked roads in and around the Sankrail railway station and had set a few shops on fire, police sources said.
"Later in the afternoon, they entered the station complex and set the ticket counter on fire. When RPF and railway personnel tried to stop them, they were beaten up," a senior Railway Protection Force official said.
Train services have been affected.
(PTI)
Special passenger trains are being run in Guwahati so that people reach their destination in upper Assam. One such train was operated on Friday to Dimapur. Trains were also run on Saturday to Furkating, the main railway junction in Assam's Golaghat district, and to Dibrugarh.
A special passenger train to Dimapur from Guwahati will also run tonight, they said.
While 2000-2400 passengers ferried in last two days, around 600-800 passengers were still stranded in Guwahati. These shall be ferried by tomorrow morning.
The officials said the railways is using social media like Facebook and Twitter to inform passengers about the special trains and also to appeal to people to not vandalise station property.
Officers are also continuously monitoring the situation and senior officers are camping in control room to supervise.
Public relations offices in the affected areas are issuing regular press releases to inform the public about train movement.
"Railways is becoming a soft target and thousand of passengers are inconvenienced and stranded. Railways is making efforts for informing about cancellation of trains. Safety of passengers is paramount and hence cancellation of trains. Wherever possible, local railway administration are running local trains for stranded passengers," an official said.
Several parts of the Northeast India have witnessed violent protests over the past few days against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which expedites citizenship applications from non-Muslim religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
(PTI)
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the people to use democratic means of protest and warned that action would be taken against those taking law into their own hands, while the opposition BJP threatened to move the Centre demanding President's Rule if the "violence" perpetrated by "Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators" went on unchecked.
The maximum violence was reported from Murshidabad and Howrah districts, while a number of other districts also bore the brunt of the protesters fury as the sky was covered with black fumes from burning vehicles and tyres with rampaging mobs armed with rods and sticks laying siege on stations and highways.
Murshidabad: Several trains that were static at the Krishnapur railway station near Lalgola have been set on fire by anti-CAB protesters pic.twitter.com/zMEIrCRgVz
— Indrojit | ইন্দ্রজিৎ (@iindrojit) December 14, 2019
A large number of mail, express and passenger trains were cancelled by the South Eastern Railway and Eastern Railway -- two important zones of the Indian Railways -- which run the services to most parts of the eastern state. At many of the stations, panicky railway employees fled from their posts fearing for their lives.
At Krishnapur station in Murshidabad, a number of trains were attacked, and several coaches were burnt by the protesters, who also torched the Lalgola station in the same district and Harishchandrapur in neighbouring Malda.
Railway equipment kept at Eastern Railway's Beldanga station was burnt by the protesters, who also damaged a fire brigade engine and set it afire. When police rushed in, they were stoned.
On Friday, protesters carrying posters against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens had vandalised the railway station, torched the station master's cabin and ransacked the ticket counter before setting it ablaze.
In Suti in the same district, three state buses were vandalised on Saturday morning and one of them was torched by the protesters after they forced out the passengers. A toll plaza was also charred.
In Raghunathganj, National Highway 34 was blocked for three hours at Talai More as protesters burnt tyres on the road.
A large group of protesters shouting slogans against CAA and NRC vandalised the Basudevpur halt station and indulged in arson.
Mobs also squatted on the railway tracks at Poradanga, Jangipur and Farakka stations in Murshidabad district and Bauria and Nalpur stations in Howrah district.
Train movement between Lalgola and Palashi stations was completely jeopardised, railway sources said.
Six buses were torched near Garfa Mor on Kona Expressway in Howrah district, before the police lathi charged to remove the blockade. The highway was also obstructed at Domjur.
In Sankrail station under South Eastern Railway, the ticket counter was set ablaze and the panel room was ransacked by angry protestors.
Railway sources said the protesters also uprooted the rubberised surface of the level crossing and used hammer and rod to damage the tea stall on the platform, besides throwing the concrete benches on the line.
The mob then spread out to the nearby Champatala crossing and halted vehicular movement by putting up roadblocks with burning tyres.
At Chengail station, protesters damaged the booking office as also an empty rake, and set fire to the level crossing, railway sources said.
Trains stopped plying on the South Eastern Railway's Howrah-Kharagpur section following the disturbances.
The Eastern Railway cancelled a dozen express and mail trains on Saturday, and nine more which were scheduled to chug out on Sunday. Five long-distance passenger trains were cancelled on Saturday, besides four which were to move out on Sunday.
The South Eastern Railway also cancelled over a dozen express and mail trains due to start on Saturday, and another train scheduled for Sunday. Some long-distance passenger trains also suffered the same fate.
Suburban train services of Eastern Railway on the Sealdah-Hasnabad section were also disrupted after a blockade at the Kankra Mirzanagar station.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has promised that CAA won't be allowed to be enforced in the state, said in an appeal: "Agitate by using democratic means, but don't take the law in your hands, don't indulge in road or train blockade."
"We won't tolerate if common people are made to suffer. Those who are creating disturbances, hitting the streets to take the law in their own hands, won't be spared. We will take steps as per the law against those torching buses, stoning trains and destroying government property," she warned.
State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh accused the state government of not taking action against those indulging in arson and destruction of public property for the sake of "vote bank" politics.
Ghosh said a 'particular community', which is an integral part of her (Banerjee's) politics, was indulging in violence.
"Where are the police, where is the administration," he asked.
State Education and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said the administration was on alert but claimed that "it is not always possible to control people's resentment."
In an apparent appeal to the minorities, senior state minister Firhad Hakim urged them not to strengthen the BJP in the state by fomenting 'lawlessness'.
Hakim, a prominent Muslim face of the Mamata Banerjee-led government and the ruling Trinamool Congress, said the fight against NRC and CAA is not a "fight between Hindus and Muslims".
"If a community creates lawlessness, the majority will get annoyed. That, in turn, will only benefit the BJP," said Hakim.
(IANS)
In view of the public agitation, major trains to and from Odisha have been cancelled. Here’s the list of the cancelled trains:
Cancellation of Trains from Puri
Puri-Chennai Express from Puri on 15.12.2019 due to cancellation of link train
Puri-Santragachhi Passenger from Puri on 15.12.2019
Puri-Khurda Passenger on 15.12.2019
Puri-Chennai Special from Puri on 15.12.2019
Cancellation of Train to Puri
Sealdah-Puri Express from Sealdah on 16.12.2019
Cancellation of trains from Howrah
Sealdah-Puri Express from Sealdah on 16.12.2019
Cancellation of Other Trains
Tirupati-Howrah Express from Tirupati on 15.12.2019
Ernakulam-Howrah Express from Ernakulam on 17.12.2019
Digha-Puri Express from Digha on 15.12.2019
Yesvantpur-Howrah Express from Yesvantpur on 16.12.2019
Hyderabad-Howrah East Coast Express from Hyderabad on 15.12.2019
Chennai-Puri Express from Chennai on 16.12.2019
Chennai-Howrah Coromandal Express from Chennai on 15.12.2019
Vascodagama- Howrah Amaravati Express from Vascodagama on 15.12.2019
Secunderabad-Guwahati Express from Secunderabad on 15.12.2019
Yesvantpur-Howrah Express (12246) from Yesvantpur on 15.12.2019
Yesvantpur-Howrah Express (12864) from Yesvantpur on 15.12.2019
Chennai-Puri Special Train from Chennai on 16.12.2019
Mysore-Howrah Express from Mysore on 16.12.2019
Yesvantpur-Howrah Express from Yesvantpur on 16.12.2019
Guwahati-Bangalore Cant Express from Guwahati on 17.12.2019
Agartala-Bangalore Cant Express from Agartala on 17.12.2019
Guwahati-Secunderabad Express from Guwahati on 19.12.2019
Partial Cancellation of Trains
Chennai-Santragachhi Special from Chennai on 14.12.2019 ran up to Nayadupeta in Southern Railway jurisdiction and remain cancelled from Nayadupeta to Santragachhi.
Kanyakumari-Howrah Express from Kanyakumari on 14.12.2019 ran up to Chennai in Southern Railway jurisdiction and cancelled from Chennai to Howrah.
Yeavantpur-Bhagalpur Express from Yesvantpur on 14.12.2019 ran up to Renigunta in South Central Railway jurisdiction and cancelled from Renigunta to Bhagalpur.
Chennai-Howrah Coromandal Express from Chennai on 14.12.2019 ran up to Visakhapatnam and cancelled from Visakhapatnam to Howrah.
Hyderabad-Howrah East Coast Express from Hyderabad on 14.12.2019 will run up to Kharagpur and will remain cancelled from Kharagpur to Howrah.
Secunderabad-Howrah Falaknuma Express from Secunderabad on 14.12.2019 will run up to Visakhapatnam
Guwahati-Secunderabad Special from Guwahati on 14.12.2019 ran up to KIR and cancelled from KIR to Secunderabad.
Guwahati-Bangalore Cant Express from Guwahati on 15.12.2019 ran up to New Jalpaigudi and cancelled from New Jalpaigudi to Bangalore Cant.
East Coast Railway, PRO: 15 trains cancelled and 10 trains have been partially cancelled, in view of public agitation at different railway stations in Howrah-Kharagpur railway section of South Eastern Railway. pic.twitter.com/no97TuO5aJ
— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2019
Locals of the Sarai Julema in the Jamia Nagar area clashed with police. The trouble began when organisers of a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, turned violent.
The situation turned critical when a bus was burned by the protestors and police got into action. A photographer was injured in the stone-pelting that took place during the confrontation between protestors and police.
Huge traffic snarls were experienced throughout south Delhi area, from Ashram to Friends Colony to Kalindi Kunj. Police diverted traffic from the vicinity as pitched battles continued.
For over an hour Mathura Road opposite New Friends Colony's both carriageways was blocked by the demonstrator. and Delhi Traffic Police tweeted that all movement was closed from Okhla Underpass to Sarita Vihar due to the demonstration.
"Motorists coming from Badarpur side are advised to take Modi Mill Flyover from CRRI towards Nehru Place& those coming from Ashram Chowk side are advised to take Ring Road, Moolchand Flyover & BRT Corridor or DND Flyover," it said.
A Delhi Fire Service official told IANS a call was made at 4.42 p.m. that buses were set ablaze. " We had sent four fire tenders which were also attacked by a violent mob," the official said. "Our vehicle was damaged and two firemen were injured. They are in hospital.
"There is so much mob accumulation in the area that we have failed to reach the spot, and the traffic jam has also added to the problem."
A statement issued by the Jamia Milia University said that students were not involved in the burning of buses. "It is done by some outsiders who want to disrupt the peace in the university and the locality around it."
(IANS)
Launching a blistering attack on the Congress, Modi said, "The Congress and its allies oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Modi. While opposing Modi they have started opposing their own country's progress as well.
"The minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh were subjected to atrocities. The mothers and sisters were exploited. Those who left those three countries and came to India belonged to Hindu, Parsi, Christian, Jain and Sikh communities. The way the Congress is instigating, creating storm and violence indicate that we saved the country by getting the CAA passed by Parliament," he said.
"When we scrapped the Article 370 and the Supreme Court gave judgment in the Ram Janambhhomi case, Pakistanis protested at the Indian High Commission in London. Congress did what Pakistan did.
"Has any anyone protested at the embassy of his own country? The memoranda are submitted to the high commission, which reaches the government of India. Congress is defaming the country in the world," said Modi.
The Congressmen were only concerned about their families and couldn't be expected to do anything for the country, he said and added, they were not ready to accept anyone who worked for the country and the society.
Targeting the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president Shibu Soren and his family, Modi said, the Santhals gave them respect and position, but they thought only about themselves.
"They made palaces for themselves. When they didn't mend their ways, you punished them in the polls. But they have not changed," Modi said.
Criticising the opposition alliance in the state, he said the Congress and the JMM had no roadmap or vision for the development of Jharkhand. "They are concerned only to fill their treasure," Modi said.
(IANS)
AMU students mounted a violent protest against the police crackdown on students in Jamia Milia in Delhi.
Cops used tear gas shells and lathi-charged students to disperse the mob. Angry policemen were also seen breaking the motorbikes parked outside the AMU campus.
Additional forces have been rushed in from adjoining districts. Rapid Action Force has also been deployed in the campus.
According to reports, a large number of students had collected outside the administrative block late on Sunday evening and pelted stones at the police. The protestors shouted abusive slogans against the police.
Efforts to pacify the AMU students by the AMU officials proved futile and the agitations continued to pelt students.
Two policemen along with a senior police and several journalists were injured in the violence, according to reports.
Senior police officials have reached the AMU and firing was reported from inside the campus.
Earlier, AMU students vandalized the area at Chungi gate and some vehicles were also set on fire.
Senior police officials in Lucknow were closely monitoring the situation and taking measures to prevent escalation of violence.
Unconfirmed reports said that AMU had been closed till January 5 but no official was ready to confirm this.
Aligarh had been simmering since Friday when the district authorities ordered a shutdown of Internet services in the district.
(IANS)
The BJP president accused the Congress, Aam Admi Party and the Trinamool Congress of "misleading" students on CAA.
"Congress, AAP and the Trinamool Congress are playing vote bank politics over CAA, and are misguiding the students and creating an environment of violence in the country," Shah said.
He was addressing an election rally here in support of party candidate from Poreyahat assembly constituency in Godda district of Jharkhand.
The Act paves the way for granting Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have migrated after facing religious persecution in their respective country.
"I appeal to the students to study the Act. There is no provision of striping off citizenship of anybody. This Act is only meant to accord citizenship to religious minorities facing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, he said.
Shah also asked the opposition parties to abjure violence as "nothing comes out of violence".
(PTI)
"Out of the 10 arrested, three are bad characters of the area. They were identified and put under arrest," said a senior police officer, adding that none of them is Jamia students.
He also said raids are being carried out in various parts of Delhi's south-east districts to nab those who indulged in violence during protests.
Delhi Police has registered two separate cases against unknown people for arson and rioting on Monday.
Jamia Millia Islamia University had turned into a battlefield on Sunday with police entering the campus and using force, following violence and arson during a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
On Sunday, protesters had torched four public buses and two police vehicles as they clashed with the police in New Friends Colony during a demonstration against the Citizenship Act, leaving nearly 60 people including students, police and firefighters injured.
The force, thereafter, used batons and teargas shells to disperse the violent mob and entered the Jamia university campus.
Jamia authorities and students claimed they had nothing to do with the violence and arson during the protest and alleged that "certain elements" had joined in and disrupted the peaceful march.
(IANS)
The information was shared following incidents of violence across many states over the new Act.
"CAA has nothing to do with NRC and it does not apply to Indian citizens, including Muslims. It applies to only six religious communities facing persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan," MHA sources said.
As per the source, CAA is a focused law and appropriate rules linked to it are being framed.
The Home Ministry sources earlier had informed that no migrant will automatically become citizen of India as per the CAA, and each one will have to apply online.
The new Act will apply to the migrants of six non-Muslim communities -- Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian -- who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution.
As per the Ministry sources, the migrants will have to fulfil all other conditions for registration, naturalisation as Indian citizen.
(IANS)
In a detailed statement bearing the names, universities of the students/alumni signatories released on Tuesday, they expressed full solidarity with students across Indian universities who were protesting against the recent passing of what they termed as "the unconstitutional and discriminatory" Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
"By every account, it appears that police and paramilitary, both at Jamia and at AMU, have used violence and pursued unlawful and reckless tactics against student protesters in violation of protections under the Constitution of India and International Human Rights law," the statement released through Jhalak M. Kakkar of Harvard Law School said.
The students/alumni groups who have signed the statement hail from Harvard University, Columbia University, Yale University, New York University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Brown University, Georgetown University, University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley Purdue University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Southern California, and University of Illinois.
As part of the solidarity moves, the first of many protest meetings is being organised at Harvard on December 17 against the CAA and NRC.
(IANS)
The OPCC chief informed that different programmes will be organised similar to 'Bharat Bachao' rally held in Delhi recently. The agitation will be launched after December 28 which is observed as Foundation Day of the Congress party.
"At a time when the current economical and political situation in the country is in a shambles, the Citizenship Amendment Act will bring more trouble for everyone. It is not right to neglect one particular community. We will launch protests again the CAA after December 28," said Patnaik.
Raising objection on the CAA, the OPCC chief slammed the Centre and the BJD for extending support for the bill.
No comments could be obtained from BJP and BJD on the matter.
The self-immolation occurred at the India Gate lawns where protesters have been demanding the rescinding of the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Police, however, said that the act by the youth was not connected to the protests.
"His (Kartik Meher's) brother told us that he is mentally unstable," Deputy Commissioner of Police Eish Singhal said.
According to hospital authorities, Meher's condition is critical.
"The man has suffered almost 90 per cent burns and is unconscious. He has been admitted in the emergency ward and is being attended to by doctors. He is critical," Dr Minakshi Bharadwaj, medical superintendent of the RML hospital, said.
A spokesperson of the Union Home Ministry said the self-immolation by Maher is not linked to protest against the amended citizenship law.
The man appeared mentally disturbed, the official said.
(PTI)
Meanwhile the authorities have prepared for the protests by deploying police force in large numbers and imposing section 144 in several places. Barricades have been set up on roads leading to protest zones.
Delhi's historic Red Fort is the venue of one of the major protests. Protestors have been gathering at the venue despite section 144 being imposed in the region. The police have been bundling away the protestors onto waiting buses. Women were also seen moving towards the protest venues. Protest marches are scheduled in other parts of the city too. The Delhi Metro has shut down services in several stations as a precautionary measure.
In Karnataka, several groups and citizens have been gathering to protest at different locations in the capital Bengaluru to protest. Noted historian Ramachandra Guha was spotted among the prominent citizens protesting in Bengaluru. Section 144 has been imposed in Bengaluru and some parts of Karnataka since Thursday morning and will stay in place till the midnight of 21 December.
In Bihar, the bandh call has affected normal life in different parts of Bihar. Roads were blocked in Hajipur, Purnea and Arrah districts of the state. Traffic movement has been restricted on account of the blockades set up by protestors in different locations of the state.
Train services have also been affected in several locations of Bihar.
Meanwhile, in Karnataka, where the BJP is heading the government, section 144 has been enforced in Bengaluru and some other parts of the state, from Thursday 6:00 a.m till midnight of 21 December. The move has been made in view of the protests planned by many political and other activist groups, against the CAA and NRC. The police have decided to deny permission for any kind of protests in the state.
Reports are coming in of protests at Chennai, Hyderabad and Lucknow. In most of the places, prohibitory orders have been put in place but protestors are gathering only to be taken into preventive custody and being bundled onto waiting vehicles.
The last few days have seen protests gaining traction across the country over the controversial CAA which provides for granting Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities in neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
(IANS)
Here are 12 key takeaways from the Act:
1. The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for acquisition, determination, and termination of Indian citizenship. Citizenship of India can be acquired by Birth (Section-3), by descent (section 4), by registration (section 5), or by naturalization (section 6)or by incorporation of territory (section 7). Any foreigner on becoming eligible can acquire citizenship by registration or by naturalization irrespective of his country or his community.
2. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) enables migrants/foreigners of six minority communities from three specified countries who have come to India because of persecution on grounds of their religion to apply for Indian citizenship. It does not amend any existing legal provision which enables any foreigner of any class, creed, religion, category, etc to apply for Indian citizenship through registration or naturalization modes. Such a foreigner has to become eligible to apply for citizenship after fulfilling the minimum legal requirements.
3. The CAA does not apply to Indian citizens. They are completely unaffected by it. It seeks to grant Indian citizenship to particular foreigners who have suffered persecution on grounds of their religion in three neighbouring countries.
4. During the last six years, approximately 2830 Pakistani citizens, 912 Afghani citizens, and 172 Bangladeshi citizens have been given Indian citizenship. Hundreds of them are from the majority community of these three countries. Such migrants continue to get Indian citizenship and shall also continue to get it if they fulfil the eligibility conditions already provided in the law for registration or naturalization. About 14,864 Bangladeshi nationals were also granted Indian citizenship after incorporating more than fifty enclaves of Bangladesh into Indian territory post the boundary agreement between the two countries in 2014.
5. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has been in the public domain since 2016. It was cleared by a 30-member Parliamentary Committee consisting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members. The present Act is broadly based on the same Bill.
6. By amending the appropriate rules during 2015-16 the Govt. of India had already legalized entry as well as the stay of such foreign migrants belonging to six minority communities from these three countries who had come into India up to December 2014 because of persecution on grounds of religion. The Government of India had made such migrants also eligible for grant of Long Term Visa (LTV) to stay in India for a long time. The CAA now enables them to take Indian citizenship if they fulfil conditions/qualifications for such citizenship provided they migrated from these three countries before 31st December 2014.
7. On different occasions, special provisions have been made by Govt. of India in the past also to accommodate the concerns of stay and citizenship of foreigners of Indian origin who had to flee to India. For example, Article 6 of The Constitution of India provides that a person who has migrated to India from Pakistan before 19th July 1948 shall be deemed to be an Indian citizen. Secondly, even if he has migrated on or after this date he was registered as an Indian citizen after staying for only six months in India.
8. Similarly, 4.61 lakh Tamils of Indian origin were given Indian citizenship during the years 1964-2008 after the signing of international agreements in 1964 and 1974 between the two countries. Presently, about 95 thousand Sri Lankan refugees are living in Tamil Nadu. They are being given rations, doles and other facilities by Govt. of India and Govt. of Tamil Nadu. They can apply for Indian citizenship as and when they become eligible to do so.
9. During 1962-78 more than two lakh Burmese of Indian origin fled from Burma after many trades and businesses were nationalized there and properties of such Indians were forcibly taken by the State. They were settled in various parts of India.
10. In 2004, the Central Government delegated the power to grant citizenship by registration to six collectors of Gujarat and Rajasthan states and Government of Gujarat in respect of Hindu migrants displaced due to 1965 and 1971 wars or those Hindu migrants who had migrated from Pakistan five years back. This delegation of power was initially for one year but the same was extended for another year in 2005 and then again in 2006.
11. The CAA does not target any religious community from abroad. It only provides a mechanism for some migrants who may otherwise have been called “illegal” depriving them of the opportunity to apply for Indian citizenship provided they meet certain conditions. The Central Government will frame rules to operationalize the provisions of the CAA. No migrant from these communities will become an Indian Citizen automatically. He will have to apply online and the competent authority would see whether he fulfils all the qualifications for registration or naturalization as an Indian citizen.
12. The CAA protects the interests of the tribals and indigenous people of the North-Eastern region by excluding areas under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and areas covered by the Inner line Permit system. Such migrants living in these areas will not be able to apply for Indian citizens. So, there is no question of any influx of foreigners swamping the indigenous population. The CAA provides a cut-off date of 31st December 2014. Such migrants are therefore already in India for the last several years.
[Source: PIB]
Asked by a reporter about Washington's reaction to the CAA, Pompeo said: "We honour Indian democracy as they have a robust debate inside of India on the issue that you raised, and the US will be consistent in the way that we respond to these issues, not only in India but all across the world.
"We care deeply and always will about protecting minorities, protecting religious rights everywhere."
At a joint news conference attended by Pompeo, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister after their 2+2 Strategic Dialogue in Washington on Wednesday, the reporter asked Jaishankar: "Why make religion a factor in deciding who gets fast-tracked for citizenship?"
Defending the CAA, Jaishankar explained: "If you had followed the debate on that particular legislation carefully, you would see that it is a measure which is designed to address the needs of persecuted religious minorities from certain countries.
"If you look at where - what those countries are, and therefore what the minorities are, perhaps you'd get - you'd understand why certain religions were identified in terms of categorising those who had come across."
So far, President Donald Trump's administration has not taken a stand on the CAA, although the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said last week that it was "deeply troubled" by it, adding that Washington should sanction Home Minister Amit Shah.
But the Commission does not have the power to sanction anyone or any government but can make recommendations that can be followed up by the government or Congress.
The CAA aims to give refuge and faster citizenship to give refuge to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains fleeing religious persecution from the officially Islamic Pakistan and Afghanistan and Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
(IANS)
He said the government should constitute a high-power committee considering the sentiments of Muslim community and submit a factual report after hearing their grievances so that the fear and myths shrouding to the new law are cleared.
"The Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not against Muslims living in the country. Any Muslim living in the country need not fear as there is no danger to their citizenship. But, there is a need to clarify the fear and myth spread among Muslims in the country," the Dargah Deewan said.
Referring to the Delhi police crackdown on students of Jamia Millia Islamia, Abedin appealed to the Centre to issue a guideline to police to not use force on students and not act in a way as if the pupils of the university are criminals.
He also appealed the students of the university to not take law in their hands as they are the future of the country and their parents and family have high hopes from them.
(PTI)
The scattered incidents of violence were reported from Lucknow's old city and parts of Sambhal and Mau districts.
Internet services remained suspended for at least part of the day at various places, including Aligarh, Sambhal, Mau and Azamgarh districts.
Section 144 of the CrPc, which bans the assembly of people, had already been in force in the entire state for several days now.
Talking tough on TV, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the state government will make those who damaged property pay for it. He said a dozen vehicles, mostly two wheelers, were set afire.
Samajwadi Party and Congress MLAs held protests in the state assembly complex against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. SP workers also defied the ban on protests in several districts, the party said. Their protests largely remained peaceful.
Teachers from the Aligarh Muslim University, the scene of violence on Sunday, also took out a protest march. Shopkeepers in some areas of the city briefly downed shutters in support.
Traders in many markets shut shop early as reports of violence in the old city came in.
Police fired tear-gas shells in old Lucknow's Madeyganj area as protesters smashed vehicles parked outside a police post. About 20 people were taken into custody.
In Hasanganj area, policemen dodged stones hurled by protesters. They had a tough time tackling protesters in some other parts of the old city as well.
At Lucknow's Parivartan Chowk, close to the district magistrate's office, police faced brickbats and the van of a television crew was reportedly damaged.
Party sources said Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Kumar Lallu was also detained while leading a protest there.
The gates of the nearby KD Singh metro station were shut to prevent more protesters from gathering at Parivartan Chowk.
In Sambhal district's Chaudhary Rai area, a public bus was set ablaze and another damaged as a protest turned violent, District Magistrate Avinash K Singh said.
Some protesters also pelted stones at a police station there, he said.
"The internet services have been suspended as a precautionary measure to prevent rumour-mongering," he said.
In Mau, protesters hurled stones, triggering a large deployment of UP's Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC).
Several Aligarh Muslim University teachers held a silent march, days after the institute witnessed violence when students protested against the new legislation that they say discriminates against Muslim.
The protesters, including several women teachers, marched from the AMU Teachers' Club to the Purani Chungi Crossing.
"We want to convey to the people of India that our struggle against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will continue peacefully within the democratic framework of the system," AMU Teachers Association secretary Najmul Islam told PTI.
"We feel that we are fighting for the idea of India as envisaged by the founding fathers of the nation. This is not a struggle for the rights of any particular community," he said.
Earlier, MLAs from the opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress held separate protests at the legislative assembly complex.
The MLAs gathered at the Assembly building in the morning ahead of the sitting of the state legislature, raising slogans against the legislation.
An SP MLA climbed the main gate of the Vidhan Bhawan. Some Congress legislators came outside the complex, but headed back when stopped by the police enforcing the prohibitory orders.
The SP also held protests in Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Basti, Siddharth Nagar and Kushinagar districts, where police detained a number of party workers.
The amended Act allows citizenship to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who entered India before 2015 after facing religious persecution in three neighbouring countries. The list excludes Muslims.
(PTI)
Besides, the two deaths in Mangaluru, the man in Lucknow identified as Mohammad Wakeel (25) died of firearm injury which he suffered while passing by a violent protest in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, but police claimed that the death was not linked to the agitation or any police action.
Curfew was imposed in Mangaluru where thousands of protesters ran amok.
The scattered incidents of violence were reported from Lucknow's old city and parts of Sambhal and Mau districts. Two buses were torched and police posts targeted in Lucknow and Sambhal. Police said 18 of their own personnel 16 in Lucknow and two in Sambhal -- were injured. Altogether, 112 protesters detained.
Internet services remained suspended for at least part of the day at various places, including Aligarh, Sambhal, Mau and Azamgarh districts.
Section 144 of the CrPc, which bans the assembly of people, had already been in force in the entire state for several days now.
Authorities resorted to barricading and a clampdown on mobile services, including an unprecedented one in the national capital, while protesters also faced tear gas shelling and police batons at some places including in Uttar Pradesh where incidents of arson and stone-pelting gave the protests a violent colour.
Opposition parties also joined forces to attack the Modi government on the new law which they said goes against the "idea of India", even as the ruling BJP asserted there would be no rethink on implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would also be brought in.
Protests remained largely peaceful at most places with the agitators depending on slogans and placards to express their opposition to the new law and what they called 'barbaric police action' against students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University. Some groups of protesters in Delhi also offered roses to policemen, saying love is their only answer even for tear gas shells and batons.
In the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, where violent clashes saw at least a dozen vehicles including bikes, being set afire, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said those who damaged public property would have to pay for it and the culprits have been identified through video and CCTV footage.
"We will take revenge" by auctioning their property to compensate for the losses, he said.
There were incidents of stone-pelting and arson in Bihar as well, while rail and road traffic was hit in several states.
Barricades by police in and around the national capital, closing of Delhi Metro gates at several stations and an unprecedented suspension of mobile voice, messaging and internet services in parts of Delhi added to woes of the public.
Left leaders Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Nilotpal Basu and Brinda Karat, activist Yogendra Yadav and historian Ramachandra Guha were among those who were detained in various parts of the country for taking part in the anti-citizenship law stirs for defying prohibitory orders.
The law has been amended to enable the grant of speedier citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they had to leave their respective countries due to religious persecution.
"India today has the ignominy of being the largest internet shutdown in the world. It is unacceptable. Metro stations were closed. This is worse than what we saw during the Emergency. The manner in which they are dealing with democratic protests is unacceptable," Yechury said.
CrPC Section 144 was imposed by Delhi Police in Red Fort area, but that did not deter scores of students and activists from converging there to raise their voice against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the police crackdown in JMI and AMU.
The agitators were put into buses in a bid to clear the Red Fort area. Holding placards and shouting slogans, the protesters allowed themselves to be escorted to the buses.
"We are requesting the protestors to please apply for the designated place for the protest. In the non-designated places, public face problems and many emergency services get affected," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Mandeep Singh Randhawa said while urging people to cooperate.
A large number of protesters converged near Sunehri Masjid in Old Delhi, after being pushed back by police from the historic Red Fort. They were heard raising slogans of 'Hum Honge Kamyaab', 'Inquilab Zindabad' filled the air.
Slogans of 'CAA Se Azaadi and NRC Se Azaadi' were also raised by the crowd, which included locals from Old Delhi and East Delhi and a large number of students.
A large number of protestors gathered at the Jantar Mantar as well.
Several companies in the NCR region also asked their employees to work from home and cautioned them against joining demonstrations.
Guha, who was detained in Bengaluru for defying prohibitory orders, said it was "absolutely undemocratic" that police were not allowing even a peaceful protest, which is the democratic right of citizens.
The Communist Party of India too staged demonstrations in Bengaluru against the citizenship law and the proposed nation-wide NRC.
Protests were also held at several other places in the state, including in Hubballi, Kalaburagi, Hassan, Mysuru and Ballary where police detained demonstrators who violated prohibitory orders.
In Mangaluru, vehicles were set on fire and stones hurled at police personnel as protesters allegedly went on the rampage.
Some protesters attempted to lay siege to the Mangalore North police station and tried to attack police personnel, following which force was used to disperse them. Two persons received bullet injuries in police firing and they later succumbed at a hospital, police confirmed.
The deceased were identified as Jaleel Kudroli (49) and Nausheen (23).
In UP, while a state transport bus was set on fire in Sambhal area of the state, while violent protests broke out in capital Lucknow too when a mob pelted stones and torched vehicles parked outside a police post.
DGP O P Singh said police had to fire teargas shells to control the situation in Madeyganj area, while nearly 20 people have been taken into custody.
The opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress legislators held their protest at the legislative assembly complex in Lucknow.
AMU teachers held a silent march opposing the new law in Aligarh.
"We feel that we are fighting for the idea of India as envisaged by the founding fathers of the nation. This is not a struggle for the rights of any particular community," AMU Teachers Association secretary, Professor Najmul Islam told PTI.
Hundreds of AMU students protesting against the amended Citizenship Act clashed with police on Sunday at a campus gate, leaving 60 injured. After the protest, the administration had announced the closure of the university till January 5.
In Bihar, members of Left-wing student organisations squatted on railway tracks at Rajendra Nagar Terminus early in the morning, while hundreds of activists of Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), floated by controversial ex-MP Pappu Yadav, burnt tyres on an adjacent road.
They also vandalized an ambulance which tried to make its way through the road and head towards a residential locality nearby.
In Jehanabad, which had been a stronghold of the ultra-Left movement in Bihar, CPI(ML) activists disrupted traffic on national highways.
In Maharashtra, the Congress, NCP and various other parties came together under a front called 'Hum Bharat Ke Log' for a protest rally at Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan, the place wherein 1942 Mahatma Gandhi told the then British rulers to quit India.
Noted freedom fighter G G Parikh, 94, who participated in the Quit India movement in 1942, was present at the Maidan.
"The Constitution, drafted by Dr B R Ambedkar, is being violated and is under attack. This is the reason that the entire country has chosen this day to condemn the unconstitutional and divisive laws of the BJP government," the front said.
The rally saw thousands of people, including workers of political parties, students, professionals and also a smattering of Bollywood personalities, who made a strong case against the Act and the NRC. However, Maharashtra's ruling alliance partner Shiv Sena kept itself out of the rally.
Protests in West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya, which were at the centre of the stir initially, were largely peaceful. Protests were also held in Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, among other states.
At a rally in Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dared the Modi government to go for a UN-monitored referendum over the amended law and the proposed nationwide NRC and said the BJP will have to quit if it fails such a "mass vote".
Two persons were arrested for hurling crude bombs on a group of anti-CAA protesters in West Bengal's North Dinajpur district, police said.
At some places, including in the national capital and Mumbai, pro-CAA demonstrations were also held by some groups of people.
(PTI)
The Meghalaya Assembly unanimously on Thursday adopted a resolution requesting the Centre to promulgate the inner line permit (ILP) in the mountainous state to keep the state out of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Several agitating bodies have welcomed the state government's move.
There has been no fresh trouble over the CAA across the mountainous state for the past several days.
According to an official of the district administration, District Magistrate of East Khasi Hills, M. W. Nongbri on Friday issued an order relaxing the curfew for 16 hours from 5 a.m. in areas under Lumdiengjri police station and the Sadar police station.
"As precautionary measures, the curfew would be reimposed in these two police station areas from 9 p.m. on Friday night till further orders," the official added. The curfew was imposed in Shillong and its outskirts on December 11 following the protests against CAA.
The shops and markets, government offices, educational institutions, all banks were open and vehicles plying as usual.
People, especially the women were busy in Christmas-eve shopping.
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said that the government would relax prohibitory orders to allow people to celebrate Christmas.
"Decision on resumption of mobile internet services would be taken soon after a review meeting of senior government officials," Sangma said.
Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (COMSO), a conglomerate of agitating bodies said the demand for the regulatory permit would continue until the union Home Ministry gives its approval.
COMSO Chairman Robert Kharjahrin said: "This is a matter of pleasure that the state Assembly cutting across party lines adopted resolution on ILP, but we have only achieved 50 per cent. The COMSO would pursue the matter till the Central government and the President gives stipulated approval."
The one-day Assembly session had been convened with one-point agenda -- to pass the mandatory resolution, before the Union Home Ministry issued a notification to enforce the ILP. The state cabinet had approved the resolution on Tuesday.
Last week, Sangma had led a delegation of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) to meet Home Minister Amit Shah to demand introduction of the ILP in Meghalaya.
"We discussed the ILP and other issues with the Home Minister who assured us of a positive response," said Sangma.
The ILP is in force in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur and was notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a stipulated period.
The CAA will not apply to the ILP and the Tribal Autonomous District Council (TADC) areas. In the four Northeastern states, there are 10 TADCs, constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. While Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram have three TADCs each, Tripura has one.
(IANS)
The protests against the controversial CA Act led to major violence in Kanpur, Firozabad's Lalganj area, Bijnor's Naya Bazar area, Hapur, Muzaffarnagar and Gorakhpur.
Protesters pelted stones at the police, set motorbikes and cars on fire and ransacked police outposts in Hardoi and Farrukhabad.
In return, the police fired tear gas shells and lathicharged protesters.
In Deoband, though, the protests were relatively non-violent.
The stir across Uttar Pradesh are a part of several such protests that have seized cities across the country since Sunday. Protests were being held in scores of cities including Delhi, Gujarat, Patna, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Bhopal, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai and Patna.
Security has also been beefed up across Uttar Pradesh, as police have registered 19 FIRs against unknown people, of whom 17 are 'named' including Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shafiqur Rahman Barq in Sambhal district in connection with the violence during Thursday's protest.
At least 3,000 people across the state, including 350 in Lucknow, have been arrested since Thursday night in connection with the violence against the recently amended citizenship law, police officials said on Friday.
There are 3,037 Facebook posts, 1,786 Twitter posts and 38 Youtube videos (scenes of violence) were deleted since Thursday's protests over the CAA.
Internet services have been shut down in 15 districts, including the capital, even Direct-to-Home (DTH) services were also snapped for some time, police added.
(IANS)
The protest was spontaneous as hundreds of people coming out of the mosque started raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
There was tension in the area as slogan-shouting continued for some time. Police tried to pacify the protesters and advised them to disperse.
A policeman grabbed a protester by his collar and dragged him towards a police vehicle, drawing strong protest from others.
The protesters later dispersed peacefully. Senior police officials present near the mosque handled the situation tactfully by allowing the protesters to peacefully protest in front of the mosque.
Personnel of city police and paramilitary forces were deployed in large numbers at Charminar as part of the security measures in the communally sensitive old city.
A protest was also staged at Azizia Masjid in Mehdipatnam area in the heart of the city. Immediately after Friday prayers, protesters gathered on the road slogans, denouncing the CAA.
The protestors, some of them carrying India's national flag and placards with 'No CAA No NRC' slogans written on it, demanded that the Centre immediately rollback the legislation.
"CAA is against the Constitution of India and we will never accept CAA and NRC," said a protestor.
Protests were also held in various towns in Telangana after Friday prayers. Huge gatherings were seen at various places to protest against the CAA.
Hyderabad had also witnessed anti-CAA protest on Thursday. The police had foiled a rally by the Left parties and some Muslim organisations and detained over 300 protesters.
The United Muslim Action Committee, comprising All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and various other Muslim groups, is scheduled to organise a massive public meeting on Saturday.
The meeting to be held at AIMIM headquarters Darussalam, will be addressed by party President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, religious scholars and leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and other groups.
(IANS)
The Home Ministry is preparing the Rules for the CAA in consultation with the Law Ministry that will indicate the process to apply for Indian citizenship by eligible refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan under the legislation.
"We are open to receive suggestions, if any, from anyone on the CAA. We are also trying to remove doubts of people about the CAA through various ways," the official said.
The central government was prepared to face protests against the CAA after its enactment by Parliament. "We had anticipated protests, at least in the Northeast," he said.
Asked about the protests which have taken place in different parts of the country, the official said as many as 59 petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the CAA and many of these individuals and organisations which filed the pleas were behind the protests.
"The protests in Delhi have happened due to circulation of wrong information and rumours," he said.
The Act suggests that the ministry will designate a competent authority that will handle the applications of those who are going to apply for Indian citizenship, and the entire process will be digital.
"No one will get Indian citizenship automatically. One has to prove eligibility," the official said.
Documents required from applicants will be prescribed in the Rules.
Earlier, the central government had delegated powers to handle citizenship applications to collectors, district magistrates or deputy commissioners.
However, the authority may be changed now and it will be specified in the Rules to be issued for implementation of the CAA.
Violent protests have taken place in different parts of the country after the Parliament passed the contentious legislation last week. At least three people were killed in police firing during protests in Assam, two others in Mangaluru and one in Lucknow.
According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants, and be given Indian citizenship.
(PTI)
Kumar made this clear in a terse reply to queries from journalists who had sought his response on the proposed country-wide implementation of NRC, including Bihar, as stated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the floor of the Parliament.
"Kaahe ka NRC? Bilkul laagu nahin hoga" (NRC, what for? Will not at all be implemented), Kumar quipped as he sauntered towards his vehicle waving at the media persons who had been waiting outside an auditorium here seeking to know the stand of the chief minister who was at the venue to address the 80th annual session of Indian Road Congress.
Notably, Kumar becomes the first chief minister from the NDA camp to have voiced disapproval of the proposed move to have an all India NRC which has triggered country-wide tension and protests.
Kumar is heading a coalition government with the BJP in Bihar.
In the recent past, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her counterparts in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, Naveen Patnaik and Jaganmohan Reddy respectively besides those in Congress-ruled states have spoken out against the proposed move which parties opposed to the BJP view as a move to polarize voters by triggering fears of disenfranchisement of Muslims.
Kumar, on his part, has been opposed to the NRC since the days when it was implemented only in Assam upon a Supreme Court order.
Known for choosing and timing his words after much deliberation, Kumar came out with his assertion on NRC a day after he had made it clear at a public meeting in Gaya that he would "guarantee" that under his watch the minorities were not treated unfairly.
His averments could be seen as a gesture aimed at, simultaneously, assuring elements within the JD(U) headed by him who apprehend the party losing out on its Muslim base after supporting the Citizenship Bill as well as detractors most notably RJD of arch-rival Lalu Prasad who have sharpened their attacks on the chief minister in the wake of the recent developments.
(PTI)
In a video message, party's interim President Sonia Gandhi said that the Congress expresses deep concern and anguish on the use of force against students and citizens of the country and stands in solidarity with them.
"In a democracy, people have the right to raise their voice against wrong decisions and policies of the government and register their concerns... The BJP government has shown utter disregard for people's voices and chosen to use brute force to suppress dissent.
"This is unacceptable in a democracy and the Congress condemns the use of violence and expresses solidarity. The CAA is discriminatory and the proposed NRC will target the poor and vulnerable sections of the society."
The Congress, which has not been directly involved in the protests so far with only a few leaders participating, has now come at the forefront of the agitation with it party chief expressing her support to the nation-wide agitations.
At a meeting of the party's core group on Thursday, many leaders, including General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, had suggested that the party should support the anti-CAA agitation.
The ruling BJP, on the other hand, has long been accusing the Congress of instigating the protests.
(IANS)
There are no reports of injuries to anyone in these incidents, though police carried out a baton charge to disperse the crowds in Beed.
At least three buses of state-owned Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, one with a few passengers on board, were pelted with stones, breaking their glass windows and damaging interiors, in Hingoli town and in Kalamnuri town.
In Beed and Nanded, nine stationery buses and the Beed bus depot was targeted by the stone pelters, while a fire truck was stoned in Parbhani and there were incidents of minor violence from other places.
In the Assembly, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray fervently appealed to the people to refrain from any violent activities during their rightful protests and "ensure that the fair image of Maharashtra is not sullied".
He urged the masses to protest, but not allow the matters to become violent and assured that no citizens would be affected nor their rights be affected in any manner.
Rushing to Beed, state Home Minister Eknath Shinde said all protestors are free to exercise their democratic rights to protest, but they should not indulge in violence activities or damaging government properties, which the organisers must ensure.
Earlier, thousands took to the streets in Nagpur, Pune's Pimpri-Chinchwad, Aurangabad, Thane's Ambernath and Bhiwandi, Sangli, Hingoli, Beed, Nanded, Jalna, Ahmednagar's Sangamner, Parbhani, Yavatmal, besides other towns to oppose the CAA-NRC.
Cutting across religious lines, thousands of youth and citizens besides several social organisations and local groups, joined the protests carrying banners, placards and posters, pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, images of the Constitution, and demanded the scrapping of the CAA-NRC.
The protests, after similar agitations in Mumbai's IIT-B, TISS, University of Mumbai, Pune University, Wardha's Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya and other institutions, were supported by the ruling Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, Congress, and other parties, barring the right-wingers like the state opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies.
(IANS)
According to the 2004 amendments of the Citizenship Act, people of the country, barring those in Assam, whose one parent is an Indian and neither is an illegal immigrant are also considered Indian citizens.
The clarification came amid the protests against the CAA and the several versions being circulated in social media about the recently enacted law.
Those who are born in India before 1987 or whose parents were born in the country before that year are considered Indians under naturalisation as per the law, the official said.
In case of Assam, the cut of date for identification of an Indian citizen is 1971.
(PTI)
A car was set on fire in Delhi's Daryaganj area and protesters hurled stones at security personnel near Delhi Gate, while police used water cannons and lathi-charged a large group of protesters to disperse the crowd.
Sporadic violence was reported from other parts of Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka-Kerala border areas as well, while authorities resorted to curbs on mobile internet and SMS services in various regions, including in parts of UP, Karnataka and the national capital. Some groups, however, offered roses to the police to underline peaceful nature of their protest.
Heavy security was deployed in all sensitive areas, including those where large-scale protests took place on Thursday that saw at least three deaths including of two persons in police firing in Mangaluru. One person had died in Lucknow.
Taking the nationwide toll to at least nine in two days, six persons were killed during protests at various places in Uttar Pradesh, where police retaliated with tear gas shells and rubber bullets after protests turned violent.
Director General of Police O P Singh told PTI that two people lost their lives in Bijnor and one each in Meerut, Sambhal and Firozabad. But officials reported a death in Kanpur as well. He said over 50 policemen were seriously injured.
The raging protests also saw some allies of the ruling BJP voicing their concerns. Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar asserted the NRC will not be implemented in his state, while another BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party's president Chirag Paswan said the protests show the central government has "failed" to dispel confusion among a significant section of society.
Holding a protest march in Maharashtra, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) alleged the Narendra Modi government wants to ensure only Hindus remain in India with its twin move of the new Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said the Modi government has shown utter disregard for people's voices and used brute force to suppress dissent. She said the CAA was discriminatory and the proposed NRC will particularly hurt poor and vulnerable.
A top official, however, said the government is ready to accept suggestions, if any, from the people who are staging protests and asserted that various efforts were being made to clear doubts of the people about the new law.
The national capital remained heavily barricaded but prohibitory orders and closure of several metro stations could not stop thousands from rallying near Jama Masjid area, soon after Friday afternoon prayers. As the day drew to a close, the protesters gathered at India Gate and Central Park, while carrying tricolour and 'Save Constitution' banners and also raising slogans against what they called attempts to divide the country on religious lines.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joined the protesters at India Gate.
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad led one of the largest protests, despite being denied permission to hold a march. Giving police the slip, he raised slogans and read out the preamble of Indian Constitution. Later in the evening, he sat on a protest near Jama Masjid.
The police was seen using drones to keep a vigil, while Delhi Metro gates were closed at some stations, including in the Old Delhi areas.
Police also carried out a flag march in the north-east district which had witnessed violence on Sunday during continuing protests against the amended law, which seeks to grant speedier citizenship only to non-Muslims facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Delhi Mahila Congress chief and former president Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha and some other members of the party were detained near Home Minister Amit Shah's residence during a protest against the new legislation.
Near Jamia Millia Islamia, which had seen massive police crackdown on students on Sunday, hundreds of people were seen wearing white caps with "No CAA No NRC" written on them.
However, it was Uttar Pradesh that saw violent clashes breaking out at multiple places, including in Gorakhpur, Sambhal, Bhadohi, Bahraich, Farrukhabad, Bulandshahr and Firozabad, soon after Friday prayers as protesters hurled stones, torched vehicles and faced police action.
Internet services remained suspended in about a dozen districts, including Aligarh, Mau, Azamgarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Sambhal and Allahabad.
In Gujarat, a mob pelted stones at the police outside a mosque in communally sensitive Hathikhana area of Vadodara city, objecting to video-shooting of namaz congregation, which the officials said was being done as a preventive measure in the wake of anti-CAA protests. Three persons were arrested while a senior official was injured in stone-pelting, the police said.
In Maharastra, mobs pelted stones at state transport buses in Beed, Nanded and Parbhani districts, while over 10,000 took part in a protest march in Pune.
In Kerala, police kept high vigil in northern districts in the wake of the killing of two persons in Mangaluru in neighbouring Karnataka. A series of protest marches and blocking of trains and buses took place in various parts of Kerala past midnight after the news emerged about the deaths.
Anti-CAA protesters also blocked Karnataka state transport buses in Kozhikode and raised slogans against the Mangaluru police action. The Kerala Road Transport Corporation has suspended bus services to Mangaluru.
A large number of Congress workers blocked roads and burnt tyres in Kozhikode, while a group of activists also burnt an effigy of Home Minister Amit Shah.
Karnataka police, on the other hand, restricted entry to Mangaluru for those coming from Kerala. At least 50 men and women who had arrived by a train from Kerala were taken into custody for trying to enter the city without identity cards.
Some mediapersons were detained for entering the Government Wenlock hospital where the post-mortem of those killed in the police firing was underway. The journalists, who were from Kerala, were released later in the day.
Police sources said protesters defying prohibitory orders attempted to lay siege to a police station in Mangaluru and tried to attack police personnel, following which force was used to disperse them.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa appealed to people to stay away from 'vested interests' indulging in rumour-mongering and assured his government's commitment to protect the rights of all citizens.
However, mobile internet service resumed in Assam on court orders, ten days after it was banned during protests against the new law.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said he will talk to leaders of anti- citizenship law agitation and his government was committed to safeguard the rights and honour of the state's indigenous population.
(PTI)
"I did not say referendum. I said gana vote. I meant an opinion poll overseen by experts like the Human Rights Commission. I have full faith in my country and its people. I want an opinion poll on CAA and NRC," Banerjee told the media here.
Clarifying further, the Trinamool Congress supremo said, "When you snatch citizenship rights, then you hurt human rights too. Then for the sake of protecting the rights of the people why shouldn't I call for taking the help of experts in conducting an opinion poll?
"And shouldn't the country's non-political people, whom people all know, and who would give the right data, keep a watch on that process along with the human rights commission?" Banerjee asked.
On Thursday, Banerjee had drawn flak from various quarters after she dared the BJP to arrange for the referendum to be conducted by the United Nations.
"If you have the guts, let there be a referendum across the country on CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019) and NRC (National Register of Citizens) issues. You won't conduct it, it will be conducted by the United Nations - an impartial organisation.
"Let them play a very important role. Let there be a committee of experts of UN, human rights. Neither the Trinamool, nor BJP nor any other parties will be there.
"If you lose, you have to resign. This is a challenge," she had said.
Soon after Banerjee's statement, the BJP pounced on the issue, with union minister Prakash Javadekar seeking an apology from her while the party's West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh alleged she was speaking the language of Pakistan. Leaders of Congress and CPI-M also disapproved of her remark.
Saying that he was "pained and hurt" at the statement, state governor Jagdeep Dhankhar also appealed to her to withdraw the comment.
(IANS)
In an exclusive interview to OTV, Panda debunked several doubts pertaining to the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which have triggered violence in many parts of the country.
The newly amended law provides for granting of Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. The law will not be extended to Rohingya Muslims persecuted in Myanmar.
Referring to the protests by students in several parts of the country, Panda said that I appeal to students opposing the CAA to go through the provisions of the act. However, several anti-social elements are joining the students in their protests and attacking police personnel and everybody should condemn it.
On the alleged police action on Jamia students, Panda said some persons were pelting stones and whether police entering campus was justified or not, that court will decide. However, when a law and order situation arises, to say that police will not take any action is not justified, he added.
Those who are pelting stones, they are not doing it based on some principle rather somebody is inciting them. People in the northeast had some questions in mind and the situation has now normalised there, said Panda.
“We need to understand that be it CAA or NRC, if the legislation had been brought by Jawaharlal Nehru or Rajiv Gandhi, then it would have been termed secular, but when the same thing is being done by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah then it becomes communal? We should discuss and debate it in cool mind and logically," Panda said.
Panda informed that during partition, the Nehru-Liaqat agreement was signed to safeguard minorities. It was honoured by India but no one else, for which Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, & Christians face persecution in Pakistan. In India, the Muslim population stood at 9 to 10 % during partition and it has now reached 15%. Whereas in Pakistan, there were 23% Hindus in 1947, but it has come down to less than 3 %.
There are media reports that the minorities in neighbouring countries are being kidnapped, tortured and subjected to forcible conversions. Isn’t it our moral obligation to provide protection to them as per the agreement as 99% of them were part of undivided India?, Panda said.
This bill has no implications whatsoever for Indian Muslims. They are Indians, to whom our constitution guarantees equal rights & protection, just as it does to every other citizen. Under PM Narendra Modi sarkar, 600 Muslims those who had come from Pakistan have been given Indian citizenships so far, Panda highlighted.
Watch the full interview of Jay Panda here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWZqzOHuzbY
In an advisory issued to private TV channels, DTH operators and cable operators, the I&B Ministry said that reference is invited to the advisory issued on December 11 on TV channels to prescribe strictly to the programme code.
"It is observed that notwithstanding the advisory, some TV channels are broadcasting content which do not appear to be in the spirit of the programme codes," the Ministry said.
The advisory has reiterated that "TV channels may abstain from showing any content which is likely to instigate violence or contains anything against maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national attitudes".
This includes abstaining from programmes that "criticizes, maligns or slanders any individual in person or certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of country, or contains anything affecting the integrity of the nation", the advisory noted seeking strict compliance.
(IANS)
According to the Citizenship Act, 1955, under the first clause, citizenship by birth under Article 5 of the Constitution provides that any person who was domiciled in India on January 26, 1950 or who was born in the territory of India is a citizen of India, the notification said.
Anyone "either of whose parents was born in the territory of India, or any person born in India on or after January 26, 1950, but before July 1, 1987 is a citizen of India by birth," said the government's notification.
Any person born in India between July 1, 1987 and December 3, 2004, and either of whose parents is a citizen of India is also a citizen of India by birth.
For persons born after December 3, 2004, the notification said: "Both whose parents are citizens of India or one of them isn't an illegal immigrant at the time of his birth and the other is a citizen of India shall also be a citizen of India by birth."
For the second of citizenship by descent, "a person born outside India on or after January 26, 1950, but before December 10, 1992, shall be citizen of India by descent, if his father was a citizen of India at the time of birth".
The criteria for citizenship by registration states that a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration is eligible to be registered as a citizen of India.
"Minor children of persons who are citizens of India are eligible to be registered as a citizen of India, and a person of full age and capacity whose parents are registered as citizens of India is eligible to be registered as a citizen of India," says the rules under citizenship by registration.
Citizenship by naturalisation provides that any person of full age and capacity on fulfilling the residency requirement of 12 years is eligible for grant of a certificate of naturalisation.
Finally, the provision for citizenship by incorporation of territory says, "if any new territory becomes part of India, the government shall specify the persons who among the people of the territory shall be the citizen of India. Such persons become the citizen of India from the notified date. This happened in the case of Goa, Daman & Diu, Sikkim and many Bangladeshi enclaves which became part of India in 2014."
(IANS)
Journalist Omar Rashid of The Hindu claimed he was sitting at a restaurant with his friends when police in plain clothes picked him up labelling him as a "rioter".
"I told them that I am a journalist, showed them my identity card, and asked why were they taking me with them. They took away my phone and hurled abuses too," Rashid told PTI.
He said one of his friends, Robin Verma, was also taken into custody at Hazratganj police station. and he (Verma) was allegedly beaten with a belt by police.
"The police told me that I had orchestrated the Thursday protest against the CAA in the city and I will be booked for conspiring the episode," Rashid said.
He said later, they were taken to Sultanpuri police post and released after the intervention of the UP DGP O P Singh.
The scribe said that Circle Officer Hazratganj Abhay Kumar Mishra later came to see him and apologised for the "mistake in identity".
An official from Hazratganj police station denied any such detention.
PTI tried to contact Misra for his comments but he could not be reached immediately.
Meanwhile, Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey alleged that his wife Arundhati Dhuru and her two social activist friends were also detained briefly at the Hazratganj police station.
The official also denied this.
Pandey claimed, "They all had gone to see Rihai Manch president Shoib who was taken into custody following the CAA protests. The police told Arundhati, Meera Sanghamitra and Madhvi Kukreja that they were also involved in the Thursday violence and detained them. They were released in the night."
(PTI)
Four deaths were reported from Meerut district, while the boy was killed in a stampede in Varanasi when a violent mob was being chased by police personnel on Friday, they said.
After Friday prayers, six people were killed as protesters clashed with the police at several places in the state. They hurled stones and torched vehicles, the officials said.
There have been reports of firing on police personnel deployed to maintain law and order, they said.
Director General of Police O P Singh on Friday said that 50 policemen were seriously injured in the violence.
Violence during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests has so far claimed lives in Bijnor, Sambhal, Firozabad, Kanpur, Varanasi and Meerut in the state.
Clashes with police were also reported from Bhadohi, Bahraich, Amroha, Farurukhabad, Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Hapur, Hathras, Bulandshahr, Hamirpur and Mahoba districts.
At many places, police used lathis, lobbed teargas shells and, according to some officials, rubber bullets when they failed to contain angry mobs.
Internet services have been suspended across major cities in Uttar Pradesh, following the state government orders.
(PTI)
In the statement, they appealed to every section of the society "to exercise restraint and refuse to fall into the trap of propaganda, communalism and anarchism".
"We also note with deep anguish that an atmosphere of fear and paranoia is being created in the country through deliberate obfuscation and fear-mongering, leading to violence in several parts of the country," the statement said.
The signatories to the statement congratulated the Parliament for "standing up for forgotten minorities and upholding the civilisational ethos of India" and "providing a haven for those fleeing religious persecution".
The act fulfilled the long-standing demand of providing refuge to persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the statement said.
Ever since the failure of the Liaquat-Nehru Pact of 1950, various leaders and political parties like the Congress, CPI(M) etc., cutting across the ideological spectrum, had demanded grant of citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh, who mostly belonged to the Dalit castes, it added.
"We also note with satisfaction that the concerns of the north-eastern states have been heard and are being addressed appropriately. We believe that CAA is in perfect sync with the secular Constitution of India as it does not prevent any person of any religion from any country seeking Indian citizenship," the statement said.
Nor did it change the criteria of citizenship in any way; merely providing a special expedited redress, under special circumstances, for minorities fleeing religious persecution from three specific countries i.e Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, it added.
"It does not in any way prevent Ahmadis, Hazaras, Baloch or any other denominations and ethnicities, from these same three countries, seeking citizenship through regular processes," the statement said.
The signatories to the statement include Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta, Shishir Bajoria, Chairman, IIM Shillong, Sunaina Singh, Vice Chancellor, Nalanda University, Ainul Hasan, Dean, SLL & CS, JNU, Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, Senior Fellow, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies and journalist Kanchan Gupta.
(PTI)
In these 17 incidents, at least 12 buses of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation and a fire brigade truck were damaged, besides a few other private vehicles, as protests rocked over a dozen districts on Friday.
While around 150 miscreants have been booked by the Hingoli Police for stone pelting, another 50 cases were lodged in Parbhani, 30 were arrested in Beed plus more than 100 persons have been booked for rioting, an official told IANS.
The police are scanning social media pictures and CCTV footage of the affected areas and more people are likely to be booked for the violence.
Three State Transport buses were stoned in Kalmanuri in Hingoli, in Beed and Nanded nine stationary buses were damaged during heavy stone throwing by some persons who targeted even the Beed Bus Depot while a parked fire brigade truck was stoned and damaged in Parbhani, the official said.
Some private vehicles which were parked in the vicinity also sustained damage in the stone pelting but there were no casualties in any of the incidents.
Massive protests, processions and demonstrations have been held all over Maharashtra in the past six days with lakhs of people taking to the streets and opposing the CAA-NRC largely in an orderly and peaceful manner.
After Friday's violence, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, leaders of the ruling Shiv Sena, Congress leaders and ministers, Nationalist Congress Party leaders including Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar and Nawab Malik, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray, and others have appealed for peaceful and non-violent protests.
On December 19, massive demonstrations were witnessed in the historic August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai, and in the cities of Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Solapur, Osmanabad, Palghar, Beed and Amravati.
On December 20, people descended on the roads in Nagpur, Pune's Pimpri-Chinchwad, Aurangabad, Thane's Kalyan, Ambernath and Bhiwandi towns, Sangli, Hingoli, Beed, Nanded, Jalna, Ahmednagar's Sangamner, Parbhani and Yavatmal.
Since the past six days, several prominent central and state educational institutions and college students have been vociferously protesting against the CAA-NRC, including from the University of Mumbai, TISS, IIT-B (all in Mumbai), Aurangabad's Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Pune's Savitribai Phule Pune University, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya in Wardha and others.
(IANS)
Twenty other miscreants were also arrested for indulging in violence during protests on Friday.
"We have arrested 21 miscreants, including Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, for arson and rioting, damage to public property, unlawful assembly and causing grievous hurt. Azad was leading the mob," said a senior IPS officer.
The police have arrested five for violence in Seelampur and 16 from Old Delhi near Delhi Gate.
The Bhim Army protest started after Friday prayers around 1 p.m. and Azad was present in the march. However, when the police tried to detain him, his supporters took him away. Thereafter, he had been playing hide and seek with the police which finally managed to arrest him.
Speaking to the media on Friday, the Bhim Army chief had said: "Police have been attacking since morning...we have not attacked them. I have evidence to prove that the RSS has planned this attack against us. We are continuing our protest in a peaceful manner".
On Friday, the protesters marched towards Jantar Mantar from Jama Masjid, but were stopped by the police and paramilitary personnel near Delhi Gate. After this, the protest turned violent with demonstrators setting a car on fire and damaging a few vehicles. The police resorted to lathi-charge and used water cannon.
The police said Azad has been instigating the crowd and had also called for an unlawful assembly which later ended up in arson and rioting.
The Seeampur demonstration started on Friday afternoon and when it ended during evening hours, a few miscreants indulged in violence and arson after police nabbed a few miscreants from the spot.
(IANS)
Around 400 to 500 people gathered here to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act amid a bandh call, they said.
Five protesters were hospitalised and the condition of one of them was stated to be critical, District Magistrate Aunjaneya Singh said.
"Over a dozen policemen also suffered minor injuries during stone pelting by protesters that included children between the ages of 12 and 18 years," Singh told PTI.
Another dozen protesters also suffered minor injuries in tear gas shelling by the police, he said.
A call for a bandh was given in Rampur on Saturday by anti-CAA protesters even as CrPc Section 144, which bars assembly of people, was in force in the region.
(PTI)
The snap poll was carried out on over 3,000 citizens across the country between December 17 to 19 with booster sample of over 500 people each in Assam, the northeast and Muslim community collected during the same period.
The report said that 62.1 per cent of people across the country said that they were in support of the CAA while 36.8 per cent people said that they were against it.
The report also showed that in east, west, north and south India, 57.3, 64.2, 67.7 and 58.5 per cent of people favoured the act, respectively, while 42.7 per cent in the east, 35.4 per cent in the west, 31.2 per cent in the north and 38.8 per cent people in the south said that they were not in support of the controversial law.
In the northeastern states, where there have been massive protests over the act in the last one week, the report highlighted that 50.6 per cent people favoured the act while 47.4 per cent opposed it.
The survey pointed out that in Assam, 68.1 per cent people were against the CAA, while 31 per cent were in favour of the act.
The report also revealed that among Muslims, 63.5 per cent were against the act, 35.5 supported it and 0.9 per cent said that they don't know or cannot comment. In the Hindus, 66.7 per cent supported the Act and 32.3 per cent opposed it.
Similarly, among other religions, about 62.7 per cent people voted in favour of the CAA and 36 per cent against it.
However, to another question, if they think that under the guise of CAA, people can also settle in the country and then become a threat to society and security, 64.4 per cent across the country responded with yes while 32.6 per cent people said no.
The survey said that in east, west and north India, 69, 66, and 72.8 per cent people, respectively, thought that the people coming from other countries and settling in India can become a security threat. However, only 47.2 per cent people in south India shared this stand, while 50 per cent people said they don't think that they those of other countries settling here will become a security threat.
In northeastern states, about 59.8 per cent of the people agreed with this apprehension while 35.7 people differed. Meanwhile, in Assam, 73.4 per cent voted that they believe foreigners settling in India could become a trouble for society and security while 21.8 per cent differed with them.
Among Hindus and Muslims, 65.3 and 67.5 per cent of people, respectively, said yes while 33 and 28.2 per cent, respectively, expressed disagreement.
To a question over if they support the stand taken by the government and the opposition parties on the CAA, over 58.6 per cent people across the country favoured the government while 31.7 per cent supported the opposition parties.
Similarly, most people of east, west, north and northeast India supported the government, while over 47.2 per cent of the people in south India supported the stand taken by the Opposition parties.
In Assam, as much as 53.5 per cent people remained in favour of stand taken by the opposition parties while only 33.7 per cent favoured the stand of the government.
Hindus and Muslims remained divided on supporting the government stand on CAA as 67 per cent Hindus voted in favour of the government while 71.5 per cent Muslims supported the stand taken by the opposition parties over the Act.
(IANS)
As many as 705 persons were arrested for committing substantive offences and 4,500 were detained across the state, IG (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar said here on Saturday.
The number of policemen injured were 263 of whom 57 received firearm injuries, he said.
Across the state, 405 empty cases of bullets were recovered from the protest sites, which "prima facie hints that how unruly elements were firing at the police. As many as 15 persons have lost their lives since Thursday, " Kumar said.
Maintaining that the police did not open fire, Director General of Police O P Singh said, "Women and children were used as shields by the protestors."
"All the deaths that took place have been in cross firing and this will become clear in postmortem examination," the DGP told reporters.
"We are clear and transparent in this. If anyone died due to our fire we will conduct a judicial inquiry and take action. But nothing happened from our side," the DGP stressed.
IG Kumar said 102 persons have been also arrested for making objectionable remarks and posting objectionable content on various social media platforms.
"So far action has been taken against 14,101 social media posts. This includes 5,965 Twitter posts; 7,995 Facebook (accounts) and 141 Youtube."
In Kanpur, anti-CAA protestors on Saturday set Yatimkhana police post on fire and indulged in heavy brick batting, leading to injury to some people.
Police had to lob tear gas shells and use canes to chase them away, and fire tenders were rushed to control the flame.
ADG (Kanpur) Prem Prakash said Rapid Action Force has been called out along with 'Vajr' vehicles to control the situation.
Samajwadi Party MLA Amitabh Bajpai and former party MLA Kamlesh Tewari were arrested as a precautionary measure and their vehicles seized.
Officials said crowds gathered in areas like Babupurva, Nai Sadak, Moolganj, Dalelpurva and Haleem College and police in large numbers was deployed to keep a watch over the situation.
Clashes broke out in Rampur between anti-CAA protesters and police on Saturday, resulting in injuries to several people, including policemen, officials said.
Around 400 to 500 people gathered here to protest against the Act amid a bandh call and five of them were taken into preventive custody, they said.
Five protesters were hospitalised and the condition of one of them was stated to be critical, District Magistrate Aunjaneya Singh said.
"Over a dozen policemen also suffered minor injuries during stone-pelting by the protesters, including children aged between 12 and 18 years," he told PTI.
Another dozen protesters suffered minor injuries in tear gas shelling by police, Singh said.
The DM suspected the involvement of non-locals in the protest and said, "Police did not open fire anywhere, yet one protester had a gunshot injury."
A bandh call was given by the protesters in Rampur on Saturday even as section 144 of the CrPC, which bars assembly of people, is in force in the region and internet remains suspended.
After a lull of four days, AMU campus again witnessed protests on Saturday with hundreds of AMU non-teaching staff joining hands with AMU teachers' association, protesting against the CAA and "police atrocities" against the agitators in various parts of the state on Friday.
Police had to use mild force on Friday evening to disperse a large crowd of protestors at Shahjamal under Delhi Gate police station in Aligarh.
SSP Aligarh Ashok Kulhari said protests have been peaceful and Shahr mufti Khalid Hamid played an important role in defusing tension.
AMU vice chancellor Tariq Mansoor has set up a one-man internal inquiry by retired chief justice of Chhattisgarh high court VK Gupta into the clashes on December 15-16.
In the western UP district of Kasganj, internet services were suspended following tension, but police described the situation as under control.
On Friday, four deaths were reported from Meerut district, three from Firozabad and two each in Kanpur and Bijnor, and one in Sambhal. An 8-year-old boy was killed in a stampede in Varanasi when a violent mob was being chased by policemen.
On Thursday, one person was killed in Lucknow during clashes, officials said, adding so far 218 people have been arrested in the state capital.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is reported to have cancelled all his programmes outside the state capital.
"None indulging in violence will be spared," Adityanath said in a tweet, asserting that every citizen will be provided security.
Officials said in view of the court directives, valuation process of the damage in incidents of clashes was going on and preparations were on to serve notices for recovery from the protestors in Lucknow.
Adityanath met Governor Anandiben Patel, who appealed to the people to maintain peace and asked them to not pay heed to rumours.
Claiming that outsiders were involved in the violence, the DGP said presence of members of political parties and of NGOs also could not be ruled out.
Internet services were suspended across major cities in Uttar Pradesh, following state government orders.
BSP president Mayawati, in a tweet on Saturday, asked the Centre to give up its "stubborn stand" and withdraw its decisions.
(PTI)
While the Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have appealed to the people to maintain peace and law and order across the state and not to fall for rumours and get misled on the new citizenship law, the district officials have also launched a campaign to dispel misinformation on the CCA.
In Etawah, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Santosh Mishra has started interacting with groups of students and explaining to them that the CAA was not designed to make them leave the country.
The SSP is informing the students that there is no law that can expel any citizen of India.
Etawah has not witnessed any anti-CAA protests and the SSP said that this was a preventive step that was being taken.
In Fatehpur, the district administration has got pamphlets printed. The pamphlet titled 'Gumrah Na Ho' lists the rumours about the CAA and clarifies the truth. These pamphlets are being widely distributed across the district, especially among the youth belonging to the minority community.
"The district administrations have been asked to dispel misinformation on the issue and do it in whatever way they feel is best," said a senior official in the Chief Minister's Secretariat.
(IANS)
People were seen flocking to local shops to buy essential items and Christmas goodies and gifts.
Streets in the state capital were being decked out in Christmas lights and festoons since morning.
Curfew was imposed on areas under Sadar and Lumdiengjri police stations in the city since December 12 as anti-citizenship law protests turned violent, leaving several injured and properties vandalised.
Over the past few days, prohibitory orders were relaxed during the day, but night curfew was still in force to avoid breakdown of law and order.
East Khasi Hills district magistrate M W Nongbri said the curfew was completely lifted from 4 am on Sunday.
Mobile Internet and messaging services, which were withdrawn as a precautionary measure to prevent circulation of fake news, were also restored on Friday night.
The Meghalaya Assembly had earlier this week unanimously adopted a resolution to urge the Centre to extend Inner Line Permit regime to the state to keep it out of the purview of the contentious law.
(PTI)
The deceased have been identified as Mohsin, Aasif, Zahir, Aalim, all residents of Meerut, and Asif from Delhi, Inspector General Alok Singh said.
During the protests on Friday, protesters had torched vehicles and pelted stones at police, who used lathi-charge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse mobs.
Thirty-five policemen were also injured in Friday's violence. They are undergoing treatment at different hospitals in the city, Singh said.
Police have arrested 102 people in connection with the violence and efforts are on to nab the other suspects, he added.
Singh said internet services have been shut down for now and social media is being continuously monitored for inflammatory posts.
To maintain law and order, peace committees have been constituted under police stations and local residents have also been roped in, he said.
(PTI)
"Hate me if you want to, but don't hate India. Burn my effigy, but don't burn a poor man's auto-rickshaw," Modi said during his over-an-hour-long speech.
Modi began his speech with a new slogan: "Vividhta me Ekta, Bharat ki visheshta (unity in diversity is India's essence) to the cheering crowds.
He blamed political propaganda that triggered arson and burning of public properties.
Modi said his government provided land ownership to 40 lakh people of 1,731 unauthorised colonies in Delhi. He said over 1,700 colonies have been demarcated and added that the maps for 1,200 colonies are ready.
Attacking the so-called urban Naxals, the PM said they were spreading rumours that all Muslims would be sent to detention centres. "These are all lies. Respect education," he said.
Earlier, Delhi BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari welcomed the Prime Minister and thanked him for regularization of the unauthorised colonies in the national capital.
Calling the Prime Minister a 'messiah' of the poor, Tiwari said BJP never goes back on its promises.
Tiwari said Delhi also needs a government of the BJP at least for five years. He chanted Modi's name to draw cheers from the crowd.
Union MInister Prakash Javadekar said, " Delhi will go to the polls in the next 45 days. I see BJP coming to power with a full majority."
"What do you want -- development or destruction, nationalism or anarchy, anti-national slogans raised in JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) or those who would end such activities?" said Javadekar.
Member of Parliament from New Delhi, Minakshi Lekhi said, "We are not here to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra', but to keep the essence of Hindustan." She accused opposition parties of using students against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Hansraj Hans, another MP from Delhi, showered praise on the PM and sang a song.
(IANS)