CAA protests Highlights: Govt focusing on CAA, NPR instead of economy, says Sachin Pilot

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi will address a protest rally against the CAA, NRC and NPR at Kishanganj in Bihar on December 29 in which former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi will also participate. Maharashtra IPS officer Abdur Rahman, who recently quit office over the alleged communal and unconstitutional CAA, will also attend the rally, AIMIM sources said on Thursday. Owaisi recently launched a campaign against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). He has so far addressed two public meetings in his home state of Telangana in Hyderabad and Mahabubnagar - as part of the campaign. (PTI)

Days after a German exchange student was forced to leave India after participating in an anti-citizenship law protest in Chennai, a Norwegian tourist in Kochi may face a similar fate. On Thursday, Janne Mette-Johannson, a tourist from Norway who arrived in India in October, was summoned to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Kochi and asked about her attendance at an anti-citizenship protest march in the city on Monday. The FRRO is an office exclusively for the services of foreign tourists in the country. Read more

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot Thursday accused the government of using its political capital on issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Population Register (NPR), instead of taking measures to improve the economy. He also alleged that the Centre was creating confusion over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the NPR. "We (Congress) are a responsible opposition party. Therefore, it is our duty to ask questions to the government," Pilot said in a press conference here. "We want to know the intentions behind the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. There is a doubt in people's mind as the Union government is confusing the people of the country about NRC and NPR," he said. (PTI)

Keeping in mind the law and order situation, Ghaziabad administration has ordered the shutting of internet services between 10 pm Thursday and 10 pm Friday. Section 144 will also be imposed in the above mentioned time period.

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy Thursday claimed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act "ignores" Muslims and that he will not implement the newly enacted law, as well as the NRC, in the Union Territory "come what may". The Congress CM claimed the CAA and the NRC were "ill-conceived" and aimed at achieving the goal of "Hindutva, as championed by the BJP". "Even Tamils from Sri Lanka residing in India as refugees were persecuted in the Island country. Why you have left them out? Similar is the case with the Rohingyas," he told news agency PTI over the phone. "It cannot be done in a partisan way. You have to include people of all the religions. You can't do it selectively for the people of some religions. Come what may, I will not implement CAA and NRC in Puducherry," the chief minister added. (PTI)

A minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government stoked a controversy on Thursday after he refused to meet the families of two men killed in violence during protests against the amended Citizenship Act in Bijnor last week.  Calling them “upadravi” (vandals), vocational education and skill development minister Kapil Dev Agarwal told PTI, “Why should I go to vandals’ place? How can those who are involved in vandalism and put the entire country and state in arson be social.” Agarwal, however, met Om Raj Saini, who was injured in the violence that hit the district’s Nehtaur area and his family. Read more

Amid allegations that those agitating against the new Citizenship Act, the National Population Register (NPR), and National Register of Citizens (NRC) were being allowed to protest and those wanting to celebrate the same were being denied permission by the Hyderabad police, Commissioner Anjani Kumar Thursday said it was untrue. “We will not allow anyone to come on to the streets to protest,” said Anjani Kumar, adding that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen had held its public meeting at the party headquarters itself and not on the streets. Read more

RTI activist and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi, who was arrested under the stringent UA(P)A amidst the large-scale protests in Assam over the amended Citizenship Act, was on Thursday sent to judicial custody for 14 days by a special NIA court in Guwahati. The court turned down the plea of the National Investigation Agency(NIA) seeking his custody for 10 more days, Gogoi's counsel Santanu Borthakur told PTI. He said that the court pulled up NIA for taking Gogoi, the chief adviser of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, to Delhi without intimating it when the peasant leader was in the custody of the anti-terror agency. Gogoi will be produced before the NIA court again on January 10, Borthakur said. (PTI)

Over 200 people were detained Thursday after they staged a demonstration outside Delhi's Uttar Pradesh Bhawan against the alleged police atrocities in the state during protests against the amended Citizenship Act, officials said. Scores of people from all walks of life had gathered outside the UP Bhawan to protest against the alleged "undemocratic onslaught on organisations and activists in the state". The protesters, who came from Jamia Nagar, Nangaloi and Seelampur, were detained and taken to nearby police stations, a senior police officer said. "A total of 213 people detained from outside UP Bhawan for protesting without permission. They were detained and taken to the Mandir Marg police station and Connaught Place police station," the officer said. (PTI)

Supreme Court lawyer Rajeev Kumar Ranjan has filed a complaint against activist Arundhati Roy for asking people to give wrong information to government officers who come to collect data for National Population Register (NPR), reports news agency ANI.

Supreme Court lawyer Rajeev Kumar Ranjan in Delhi: I have filed a complaint against activist Arundhati Roy for asking people to give wrong information to government officers who come to collect data for National Population Register (NPR) pic.twitter.com/hS0OR6Lj4y

— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2019

Hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress of instigating violence in Delhi over the newly amended Citizenship Act, Union Minister Giriraj Singh Thursday said Rahul Gandhi, along with the tukde-tukde gang and AIMIM chief Asaddudin Owaisi were trying to divide the country. “What Mughals and Britishers could not do, that Rahul Gandhi, Congress, tukde-tukde gang and Owaisi want to do. They want to divide India. They want a civil war in India,” news agency ANI quoted Giriraj Singh as saying. Read more

Daryaganj violence case: A Delhi Court to pronounce judgment on bail plea of all 15 accused on December 28. (ANI)

The court had on Monday sent the 15 people, arrested in connection with the violence over the new citizenship law in Old Delhi’s Daryaganj, to two-week judicial custody. Metropolitan Magistrate Kapil Kumar sent the accused persons to further 14-day judicial custody after rejecting their bail applications.

Congress Thursday accused BJP government of bringing the NRC in the garb of the National Population Register (NPR) and claimed that questions related to NRC will be asked in the pre-test forms for the NPR. Party spokesperson Ajay Maken said his party will oppose the government if it tries to link the NPR with the NRC and alleged that it infringes upon the citizens' right to privacy. "The BJP government is trying to bring the NRC in the garb of the NPR. The BJP government wants to polarise the society," he said. He added that the questions asked in the NPR pre-test questionnaire are not required for the exercise. (PTI)

Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey Thursday wrote an open letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stating that the "vengeance" with which the state government was acting against protesting activists is condemnable and called for "more maturity and restraint". Pandey, an academic and a social activist, has also alleged in his letter that "anarchist elements" were responsible for violence though action is being taken against people who have adopted peaceful means of protests and have faith in the country's Constitution. "If you (CM) will send social activists, who have faith in the Constitution, to jail because your police in unable to identify the anarchist elements, then peaceful means of expressing dissent against the government in a democracy will be eliminated and anarchist elements will easily be able to mislead the common people," he said. (PTI)

The students of Jadavpur University on Thursday decided to "rusticate" West Bengal Governor and the university's chancellor Jagdeep Dhankhar from his post over a host of issues, including his stand on the contentious Citizenship Act. In an e-mail to Raj Bhavan on December 24, the day Dhankhar was prevented by protesters from attending the annual convocation of the university, the Arts Faculty Students Union (AFSU) said, "Sir, you are not welcome in our campus." Opposing the governor's views on "various contemporary issues," the mail said, "As you do not act like an unbiased constitutional head and since your attitude is not at all guardian-like towards the students, you are not welcome in our campus." (PTI)

Left parties call for week-long protests from January 1 to January 7, 2020, against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC), National Population Register (NPR), mounting miseries of people due to economic slowdown, and in solidarity with the all India General Strike on January 8.

Left Parties (CPIM, CPI, CPIML-L, Forward Bloc & RSP) call for week long protests from Jan 1st to 7th against #CAA_NRC_NPR, mounting miseries of people due to Economic Slowdown & in solidarity with all India #GeneralStrike on Jan 8th.https://t.co/onHtFlky4C

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) December 26, 2019

Favouring implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board Thursday said Indian Muslims do not have any threat from it. "Hindustani Muslims do not have any threat from NRC. It should be implemented in the country. The real matter is of identification of intruders who are the real threat to the country," UPSCWB Chairman Waseem Rizvi said. "The intruders are vote bank for the TMC and the SP. The Congress is making voter identity cards of intruders from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. If NRC is implemented their real face will come to the fore," he added. (PTI)

Accusing the Opposition of creating confusion over the Citizenship Amendment Act, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday said, “Congress party ke netritva me tukde-tukde gang jo Dilli ke ashanti ke liye zimmedar hai, isko dand dene ka samay aa gya hai. Dilli ki janata ne dand dena chahiye (The Congress-led tukde-tukde gang is responsible for spoiling the peaceful atmosphere in Delhi. The time has come to punish them. Delhi people should do it)".

#WATCH Home Minister Amit Shah: Congress party ke netritva me tukde-tukde gang jo Dilli ke ashanti ke liye zimmedar hai, isko dand dene ka samay aa gya hai. Dilli ki janata ne dand dena chahiye. pic.twitter.com/3qJKEHlE9h

— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2019

Uttar Pradesh is the worst-affected state by the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act with violence erupting mainly in 12 districts, including Firozabad, Rampur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr and Bahraich. Eighteen people have been killed so far — at least 14 victims are Muslims who died of bullet injuries from firearms. In one case, the police have admitted to firing in “self-defence”. Public and private vehicles were burned during various protests, while several policemen were also injured. For more than a week now, the government has suspended or curtailed mobile internet in multiple areas across the state. While the police have come under severe criticism for firing on protesters, they have accused protesters of indulging in violence first and vandalising public property. Read more here

Lashing out at the BJP, the chief minister said that the party does not keep its promises, while referring to Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's remark about putting on hold compensation to families of police firing victims in the state. The government would not give a single rupee to their families if the investigation proved the involvement of two persons in the violence during the December 19 protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the Karnataka CM said.

In the wake of nationwide protests against the amended Citizenship Act and the proposed National Register Citizens, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat Thursday said, “leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate directions”.

“Leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate direction. As we are witnessing in large number of universities and colleges, students, the way they are leading masses and crowds to carry out arson and violence in cities and towns. This is not leadership,” Rawat said while addressing a gathering at a health summit in New Delhi.

The outgoing Army Chief, who is due to retire on December 31, termed leadership as a “very complex phenomenon”.

In Mumbai, the city police have been deployed around Dadar where protests are being held by the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi party.

"Modi Shah hosh me aao" chants as the crowd swells at #Dadar for the anti-#CAA_NRC protests held by #prakashambedkar @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/7S0NTWP9g5

— Gargi Verma (@gaargi_) December 26, 2019

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said that the protests will continue till the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC get revoked, PTI reported.

JD(U) vice-president Prashant Kishor, who has been critical of the proposed implementation of nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC), dubbed the PM’s rhetoric of “Abhi toh NRC ki koi charcha hi nahi hui hai“, as a “pause and not a full stop”.

“The claim of “Abhi toh NRC ki koi charcha hi nahi hui hain” is nothing but a tactical retreat in the face of the nationwide protest against #CAA_NRC. It is a pause and not the full stop,” Kishor wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday for his claim that there were no detention centres in India, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged that “RSS’s Prime Minister lies to Bharat Mata”. Gandhi attached a video, which purportedly shows an under-construction detention centre in Assam. “RSS’s Prime Minister lies to Bharat Mata,” Gandhi said in the tweet in Hindi with the hashtag ‘Jhoot Jhoot Jhoot (lies, lies, lies).

Hi, welcome to the Indian Express LIVE blog. Stay tuned to track the latest developments on the Citizenship Amendment Act.