CAA protests HIGHLIGHTS: ‘PM lying about detention camps, sanctioned Rs 46 cr in 2018,’ says Tarun Gogoi

The opposition Left Front and the Congress on Friday took out a joint rally in Kolkata to protest against the contentious amended Citizenship Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens.

The rally was led by West Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra, Left Front chairman Biman Bose and senior CPI(M) leader Surjya Kanta Mishra from Subodh Mullick Square to Mahajati Sadan in central Kolkata.

"We won't jointly protest with the TMC until they stop pursuing competitive communal politics with the BJP in Bengal. It is due to communal politics of TMC, that the BJP has gained ground in Bengal. The TMC should first stop playing such communal politics," the Left Front chairman said.

The Kerala government Friday rejected reports that it was planning to build detention centres that would hold people who illegally entered the country, convicted foreigners waiting for deportation and those whose visas might have expired. A statement from the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan clarified that it had put on hold all measures for the same taken by the previous government. 

According to the chief minister’s office, a letter directing home secretaries of states to build detention centres was first sent by the then Union government in August 2012. The Union government’s instruction was that such centres would be used to hold those who entered the country illegally, foreigners overstaying in India despite their visas expiring, and convicted foreigners waiting for legal issues to be resolved before their deportation. The Congress-led UPA was in power at the time. Read more

In Gorakhpur, Friday prayers were passed off peacefully and no incident of protest was reported. "Juma namaz was offered peacefully and there was no incident of violence of protest in the district. Children were distributing Indian flags, sweets and flowers and people showed their faith in the police," PTI quoted Gorakhpur SSP Sunil Kumar Gupta as saying.

Members of the Muslim community observed fast (roza) and prayed after Iftar for the restoration of peace in the country in the wake of the growing protests against the amended citizenship act.

Last Friday, violent clashes broke out here soon after juma namaz as protesters hurled stones, torched vehicles and faced police action.

BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav attributed incidents of violence over Citizenship Amendment Act as "political and communal conspiracy", alleging that opposition parties along with some communal forces were making false propaganda about the CAA.

"You have seen brutal attacks on ordinary police constabulary at different places during the violent agitation,’’ BJP leader said, adding that political parties should ask people to desist from such actions as police are performing their duty.

The protesters supporting the Bhim Army Friday burnt the copy of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act during a protest against the new law and NRC organised at Mangalwar Peth in Pune. 

(Express photos: Arul Horizon)

The AMU Teachers' Association has called for a judicial probe into the clashes between police and students during a protest against the amended citizenship law last week, PTI reported. The association also demanded that 'false cases' against Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students be immediately withdrawn and guilty police personnel be punished as per the law. Without these it will become difficult to restore normalcy on the institute's campus, the teachers' body said.

Amid the ongoing turmoil in the country over the newly amended Citizenship Act, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to show him a single line in the Act regarding the withdrawal of anyone’s citizenship. 

“The Congress and company is spreading rumours that Muslims may lose their citizenship," Shah said addressing a rally at Shimla’s Ridge Maidan.  Read more

Taking preventive measures, the Delhi Police earlier today closed the Lok Kalyan Marg metro station as hundreds of protesters were marching towards the PM's residence demanding the release of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad and rollback of the new citizenship law.

Security Update

All entry & exit gates of Lok Kalyan Marg are open.

Normal service has resumed. https://t.co/uYRbesppBK

— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) December 27, 2019

Heading the BJP's Sanvidan Sanman Manch' rally in Mumbai, former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis reiterated that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act does not take away the citizenship of any Indian national, PTI reported. 

"Pakistan did not fulfill the (implicit) assurance during Partition that minorities will be protected (in both the countries). Hence India has to look after them because they are our people," said the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Accusing the opposition of misleading Indian Muslims, Fadnavis said, "The opposition is deliberately trying to create misunderstanding among Indian Muslims about the Act. For vote bank politics, the opposition is trying to create unrest."

A rally in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act took place in Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan, where a massive protest against the Citizenship Act was held last week. In the rally organised by BJP's Sanvidan Sanman Manch', supporters of CAA were seen carrying national flags along with placards with pro-CAA and NRC messages and shouting slogans.

They were also carrying photographs of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Big photographs of V D Savarkar, Mahatama Jyotiba Fule, Bharatmata and Shahu Maharaj were displayed on stage. The march was planned from August Kranti Maidan to Lokmanya Tilak statue at Girgaum, however, the Mumbai Police denied them permission for the march citing law and order issues.

After offering Friday prayers, hundreds of people gathered outside Jama Masjid in Old Delhi to protest against the controversial citizenship law. Congress leader Alka Lamba and former Delhi MLA Shoaib Iqbal were among those who joined the demonstrations.

Lamba hit out at the central government, saying 'unemployment is the real issue in the county, but you (PM) are trying to put people in a queue for NRC, as it was done during demonetisation'.

'It is very essential to raise the voice of democracy for the country and for the Constitution. A central government cannot become dictatorial and impose it agenda on people,' PTI quoted Lamba as saying.

In Mumbai, students activists from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh gathered at the ground to participate in the 'Inquilab Morcha' to raise their voice against the citizenship act, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). The protest had been curtailed to demonstrate at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai after the police denied permission. 

(Express photo)

The Friday prayers in Uttar Pradesh have been concluded peacefully, PTI quoted DGP OP Singh as saying. Taking preventive measures ahead of the prayers and possible protests, UP Police imposed alert on all districts. Internet services were suspended in Meerut, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr, Shamli and Agra.

The DGP had instructed all officers in the districts, police ranges and zones to stage flag marches in sensitive areas.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has closed the entry and exit gates of Lok Kalyan Marg and trains will not be halting at this station. The move comes after several protesters marching towards the PM's residence at Lok Kalyan Marg were stopped by the Delhi Police. The protesters demanded the release of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad and rollback of the new citizenship law. 

(ANI photo)

Scores of people, including khadims of the Ajmer dargah, took out a protest march against the amended Citizenship Act in Ajmer, demanding a rollback of the law, PTI reported. "The Centre should repeal the Act, which is an attack on the Preamble of the Constitution. The government should also say that the NRC (National Register of Citizens) will not be implemented (countrywide)," PTI quoted Sarwar Chisty, a khadim of the dargah, as saying.

Slogans like "long live communal harmony" were raised by the protesters. They also burnt an effigy of Deewan Zainul Abedin Ali Khan, the spiritual head of the dargah, accusing him of misleading Muslims on the issue of the amended Citizenship Act.

Delhi Police has detained a group of protesters who attempted to stage a demonstration outside the Uttar Pradesh Bhavan against the alleged police action in the state following the agitation over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, PTI reported. The Jamia Coordination Committee, which comprises students from various political groups active on the campus, had called for a "gherao" of the UP Bhawan.

There was heavy security deployment outside the Bhavan and as soon as some protesters arrived, they were detained and taken to the Mandir Marg police station.

(Express photo: Tashi Tobgyal)

Hundreds of people marching towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence to demand the release of Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad and to voice their protest against the CAA and the NRC were stopped by police today. The protesters took part in the march with their hands tied so they can't be blamed for violence and arson during the protest. The protesters, including Bhim Army members, began marching from the Jor Shahe Mardan Qarbala in Jor Bagh and were stopped by police at a barricade on the way to the prime minister's residence in Lok Kalyan Marg a few kilometres away.

Protests against the citizenship law in Delhi's Jor Bagh area on Friday. (Express photo/Tashi Tobgyal)

Several people gathered outside the iconic Jama Masjid in Old Delhi to protest against the amended citizenship law. Congress leader Alka Lamba and former Delhi MLA Shoaib Iqbal were among those who joined the demonstrations. According to PTI, Lamba hit out at the BJP government saying 'unemployment is the real issue in the county, but you (PM) are trying to put people in a queue for NRC, as it was done during demonetisation'

While addressing a protest rally in Mumbai's Azad Maidan, All India Democratic Women's Association president Malini Bhattacharya said, "The Narendra Modi-led government is working against the Indian Constitution. It has unleashed a reign of terror instead of addressing the basic rights of the poor people. The government is operating on hatred and inflicting atrocities on the people. In such a situation, women's hardships have multiplied. And we have to show greater resolve to fight against this government. Women have to unite in this fight across the nation." 

As prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been in place in Delhi's Seelampur since a month after protests turned violent, the police have urged people to not participate in any demonstrations that could turn violent. The Delhi Police have also put up a banner asking people to refrain from staging demonstrations outside the Uttar Pardesh Bhawan as prohibitory orders are in place. Police personnel have been deployed and barricades placed outside the building where a protest will be staged by Jamia Coordination Committee on Friday afternoon against the "Police Raj of UP Police".

Flag march was conducted in some areas of the Northeast district in the national capital and heavy police force deployed in parts of the city, police said. According to PTI, the police organised flag march in northeast Delhi's Seelampur, Jafrabad, Welcome and Mustafabad areas. Adequate police force from adjoining districts and fifteen companies of paramilitary forces were deployed in the Northeast district to maintain law and order. Delhi Police is also using drones to keep a vigil on the situation, they said. Heavy police deployment is also in place in Jamia Nagar, Jama Masjid and Chanakyapuri, the police said. "We have been conducting flag march in the Northeast district along with the members of Aman Committee to ensure that law and order remains in control in the area. We have also been appealing to the people to help police maintain peace," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Ved Prakash Surya was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Union Minster Hardeep Singh Puri today said the citizenship law does not alter India's secular credentials and accused opposition parties of spreading "misinformation" on the new law. "As opposition parties mount an anti-govt campaign using CAA as the lightening rod to spread misinformation, inflame passions, mobilise forces inimical to India's interests & incite violence," he tweeted. "CAA neither alters nor challenges rights of any Indian citizen, irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sect, ethnicity or race. The narrative that it threatens religious minorities in India is ignorance at best and treacherous at worst," he said. Puri added that the opposition against the new citizenship law was riding on a false narrative. "CAA does not mean that Muslims who are otherwise persecuted in these countries cannot apply for Indian citizenship - in fact, in the last five years, PM Modi's govt has granted citizenship to nearly 600 Muslims from these countries," he said.

In Delhi, Jamia students will stage a protest outside UP Bhawan at 3 pm today.

A group of lawyers on Thursday sought to “distance themselves” from a Bar Council of India (BCI) resolution dated December 22 regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and the protests over it, and stated that the resolution “does not speak for all advocates”. The statement, with names of 991 lawyers appended to it, said that the BCI “ought not to release statements that give the impression that it is doing so on behalf of all advocates, as the Resolution does not represent the views of the Bar and certainly not the undersigned advocates”.

Women hold a rally to protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Mumbai on Friday. (Express photo/Nirmal Harindran)

Aligarh police have booked 1,200 students of Aligarh Muslim University for holding a candlelight march on Tuesday evening, saying that they had violated the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC. Late on Thursday evening, Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Kulhary assured a delegation of AMU students that the case will be dropped since it was a peaceful march. While the students said that the candlelight march was held within the campus, the police claimed that it was held outside on the city road and, therefore, was in violation of Section 144.

A Norwegian tourist, who came under the scanner of the Foreigner Regional Registration Office Thursday for participating in an anti-CAA protest on December 23 in Kerala, has been asked to leave the country immediately. The FRRO, the regulatory body for registration, movement and stay of foreign nationals in India, confirmed this to indianexpress.com on Friday. “Janne-Mette Johannson was asked to leave India because she violated visa rules by participating in a protest. She agreed to the same in the questioning yesterday and was intimated in person today to leave the country. She will be leaving today,” Kochi FRRO Anoop Krishnan said.

In the national capital, Prakash Surya, DCP North East Delhi, told ANI: "Adequate police force and 15 companies of paramilitary forces are deployed in the area. We are conducting a flag march in Seelampur, Jafrabad, Welcome and Mustafabad areas. We appeal to people to maintain peace." 

Minors, mostly school students, are among the thousands arrested, detained, put on notice, or injured, in different cities in Uttar Pradesh, following protests against the new citizenship law and the proposed NRC. In Sambhal, among the 42 arrested, families of at least two claimed that they were boys aged 16 and 17, respectively — both were arrested late last Thursday. In one case, The Indian Express accessed Aadhaar details that show the detainee’s year of birth as 2003. While police claimed that no minor had been detained, the two families have alleged that their boys have been lodged in Bareilly jail for a week. Protests in Sambhal had turned violent last Thursday, leaving two dead.

Former Maharashtra chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis will lead a public rally in Mumbai today in support of the law. However, the rally will be held under the banner of ‘Samvidhan Sanmaan Manch’ — a group of socio-cultural organisations, said BJP leaders. The rally is scheduled to begin from August Kranti Maidan and conclude at Girgaon Chowpatty. However, late Thursday, the police denied permission to the organisers of the rally to hold a march till Girgaon Chowpatty and asked them to confine their gathering at the August Kranti Maidan.

"Law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh is absolutely under control, we continue to have a strategic deployment of forces, Special Investigation Teams have been formed to investigate cases. We have suspended internet services in 21 districts, they will be restored as and when the situation demands," O P Singh, UP DGP, told ANI. He added, "We are not touching innocents and we will not spare the people who were involved in it (violence). And that is the reason we have arrested active members of many organisations, whether it is PFI or any other political parties." 

Five leading citizens based in Ahmedabad have filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court on Thursday challenging the continuous issuance of orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Gujarat Police Act Section 37, specifically seeking the quashing of two such orders issued on December 13 and December 10. The state is expected to submit instructions at the next hearing on January 9, 2020. The petition moved by professors affiliated with various universities and businesspersons based in the in the city highlighted that such orders are issued in Ahmedabad “in a routine course of manner and in the identically worded texts”, further submitting that such orders under Section 144 “are operating in the entire city of Ahmedabad for years without providing any notice before or after the passing of the same” and compliance can be expected from citizens only if such orders are notified to the public at large.

The planned march against the citizenship law, NRC and National Population Register (NPR) from Byculla to CSMT has been curtailed to a demonstration at Azad Maidan after Mumbai Police denied permission for the rally over the six-km route that passes through some of the most congested parts of the city. The protest will now take place at Azad Maidan from 3 pm. “We were not given police permission for the rally. The police told us permission was refused for fear of violence. However, the struggle will continue,” said an organiser. Called “inquilab morcha”, the protest is expected to see participation by students of Jamia Millia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, IIT Bombay and Mumbai University, NGOs and ordinary citizens, as witnessed on December 19 at August Kranti Maidan.

In Gujarat, the Vadodara cyber police issued a notice to Zuber Gopalani, an activist who is also the chairman of the Minority Development and Protection Foundation, seeking an explanation on a social media post in which Gopalani allegedly urged the Muslim community to boycott professionals supporting the controversial citizenship law. Later an FIR was lodged against Gopalani, Sagir Ahmed Abdul Ghani Ansari, who held the Twitter accounts where the post was made and Mohammad Soaib Mohammad Kadiwala for circulating the message on WhatsApp.

Ten days after protesters vandalised a police station and set fire to vehicles in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh, Mirzahadi Chowk market, the scene of the first incident of violence during the ongoing protests against the citizenship law and NRC in the state, on Thursday seemed peaceful on the surface, though with an underlying sense of anxiety. Niyad Ahmad’s house, with several shops, including his two general stores, a Western Union office and a footwear store, is located right on the chowk. Dakshintola police station, which was vandalised, with parts of the boundary wall damaged and computers inside broken, is barely 100 metres away. Ten days on, with his four sons still in jail, Ahmad, 74, is in no shape to open his shops yet. “They look after business; there is no one who can handle it,” he said.

In Delhi, police are keeping an eye on social media to check rumours. "Delhi Police is ready to deal with any situation. As a precautionary measure, police have deployed several company forces in some areas. Police are also monitoring social networking sites to check rumours," MS Randhawa, PRO, Delhi Police, was quoted as saying by ANI.

The death toll in violence during the protests in Uttar Pradesh climbed to 19 after two injured men died in Delhi hospitals early on Thursday. Mohammad Haroon (30), who was admitted to AIIMS with a bullet lodged in his neck, died early Thursday morning. Mohammad Shafeeq (40), who was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday, also died Thursday. Officials said the 19 dead were from Firozabad (6), Meerut (4), Kanpur (3), Sambhal (2), Bijnor (2), Lucknow (1) and Varanasi (1). An official statement said 288 policemen were injured in the violence, 61 with gunshot injuries.

In UP, according to figures released by the DGP Headquarters, the 327 cases lodged so far relate to charges of arson, vandalism, attempt to murder, rioting, attack on police force and violation of CrPC Section 144. Preventive detentions have been made under CrPC Section 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences). Officials said notices have been issued to 372 people, allegedly involved in acts of violence resulting in damage of public property, for recovery through attachment of their properties. Majority notices have been issued in Moradabad, Lucknow, Firozabad and Gorakhpur.

Internet services were suspended in half a dozen western Uttar Pradesh districts on Thursday night as a precautionary measure. The services have been suspended in Meerut, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr, Shamli and will be resumed on Friday evening, administration and police officials of these districts told PTI. In Agra, internet services will be suspended from 8 am till 6 pm on Friday, Additional Superintendent of Police, Ravi Kumar said. In Bulandshahr, the services were shut at 5 pm on Thursday and will be resumed on Saturday morning, Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh said.

As the death toll in protests against the new citizenship law climbed to 19 in Uttar Pradesh Thursday, the state police said it had arrested 1,113 people in 327 cases registered so far and placed another 5,558 people under preventive detention. This is the biggest police crackdown in Uttar Pradesh since the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots when 1,480 people were arrested in 567 cases. The riots had claimed 63 lives and displaced an estimated 50,000 people. Among the people arrested in Lucknow are social activist and Congress worker Sadaf Jafar, retired IPS officer S R Darapuri (75), lawyer Mohammad Shueb (76), theatre artist Deepak Kabir, Robin Verma and Pawan Rao Ambedkar. Darapuri, Shueb and Robin are members of the Rihai Manch while Pawan is a social activist. Shueb was initially under house arrest but he was picked up after the December 19 violence and arrested for allegedly instigating people to protest.

Security was mounted and patrolling intensified in sensitive areas across Uttar Pradesh to ensure peace during Friday prayers. Paramilitary force personnel and state police force have been deployed, and drone cameras are being used to ensure security on Friday, Gorakhpur District Magistrate Vijyendra Pandiyan was quoted as saying by PTI.

Security has been beefed up and patrolling intensified in Uttar Pradesh ahead of Friday prayers even as internet services continued to remain suspended in Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Agra, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli in the wake of widespread protests against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Police staged a flag march in sensitive areas in order to avoid a repeat of last Friday’s violence in Gorakhpur and also held a meeting with peace committees in all circle and police station areas.