Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 Protests in Assam, Tripura, Guwahati, Northeast Today: Protests against the citizenship law in Guwahati. (File)
Citizenship Amendment Act protests today Highlights: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held an emergency meeting with senior officers of the state administration and police forces on Sunday night and directed them to remain on high alert, amid incidents of violence in the state, PTI reported. In the about-two-hour-long meeting at her Kalighat residence, Banerjee directed the officials to take strict action against those indulging in vandalism, an official said.
Meanwhile, two more people protesting against the amended Citizenship Act in Assam succumbed to injuries on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Ishwar Nayak and Abdul Alim. Both of them suffered bullet injuries due to police firing during clashes in Guwahati on Thursday, a senior official of the Guwahati Medical College told The Indian Express. With this, the total death toll in the state rose to five in the state. Two people died in police firing on Thursday, while another succumbed to his injuries after an oil tanker was set on fire on Saturday.
Taking a u-turn after voting in support of the Citizenship Bill in the Rajya Sabha, BJP ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Sunday said it will move the Supreme Court against the contentious bill which was passed by both Houses. “We will not allow the CAB to be implemented in Assam. We will approach the SC against CAB,” Ramendra Kalita, senior AGP leader, told The Indian Express. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that their government is “committed to protect all genuine Indian citizens and the rights of the people of Assam.” Sonowal will also lead a team to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah soon to discuss the ongoing protests in the state.
The death toll in Assam, where protests against the new citizenship law led to clashes between protesters and security personnel last week, rose to five Sunday as two youths succumbed to their injuries in Guwahati. The family of Ishwar Nayak (25) alleged he was killed in police firing. He succumbed to a bullet injury he suffered during clashes in Guwahati on Thursday, a senior official of the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) told The Indian Express. Read full story
Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) organised a statewide protest march on Sunday night against police action on students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, who were protesting against the Citizenship Act. Protesters tried to break a police barricade while raising slogans in support of the students of the two universities. Police used water cannons on the protesters.
Activist Akhil Gogoi, whose Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) is one of the key organisations behind protests against the new citizenship law, has been booked by the NIA on charges of sedition and under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly being an overground worker of the banned CPI (Maoist). In the FIR lodged on Saturday, the agency alleged that Gogoi and several others, “through their visible representation and spoken words… have abetted, incited hatred and caused disaffection towards the government…” Read more
VIOLENT PROTESTS against the new citizenship law Sunday spilled over to a third day in West Bengal, where protesters vandalised at least 15 railway stations and two local trains, and blocked roads across the state. And in Assam, where the protests first began last week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against activist Akhil Gogoi, whose Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) has been steering the agitation, for alleged links to Maoists. Gogoi was arrested in Jorhat last week. Read the full story
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday summoned the West Bengal chief secretary and the director general of police to brief him on the situation following violent protests in the state against the amended citizenship law. The two senior officials have been called to Raj Bhawan Monday morning, Dhankhar wrote on his Twitter handle. (PTI)
"The students are the future of this country. Students are here to raise voice against injustice. How can police enter the campus without permission of the Vice-Chancellor? I have come here as a former student of DU as what has happened is wrong. The police cannot file FIR against students. Videos show how police entered the bathrooms of the campus. We will not let happen. I think this action is inhuman. The norm is to take permission of the administration. Students who were studying in the library were beaten mercilessly," questions ex-Lok Sabha member, Kirti Azad.
As protests against the Citizenship Act continued in several parts of the country, over 3,500 people including prominent personalities from different walks of life gathered together in Bengaluru to express dissent against the new law. The Karnataka capital has been witnessing several protests since the Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha last week as the same continued to take place in Sir Puttana Chetty Town Hall on Sunday as well. Read more
About a dozen policemen were injured as a group of unidentified protesters marching against the NRC and the citizenship law clashed with the police and later torched a police picket and about 10 motorcycles, four of which belonged to mediapersons. As there was no prior permission for the procession, the police tried to stop them. Over 50 protesters started pelting stones, injuring a dozen policemen. Patna District Magistrate Kumar Ravi said: “Police had to use teargas and mild force to disperse the mob. We are seeing CCTV footage to identify protesters.”
TISS students protest against atrocities on Jamia, AMU students.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held an emergency meeting with senior officers of the state administration and police forces on Sunday night and directed them to remain on high alert, amid incidents of violence in the state.
In the about-two-hour-long meeting at her Kalighat residence, Banerjee directed the officials to take strict action against those indulging in vandalism, an official said. (PTI)
Manipur police Sunday warned people of action if they support a general strike called by four Left-leaning political parties in Manipur on December 19 against the amended Citizenship Act. The development comes three days after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh issued a similar warning against protestors using violence during the protest.
Clay Khongsai, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zone-I, said the proposed 12-hour strike is going to give a lot of inconveniences to the people of the state, particularly to the students who are staying outside. Read more
The Delhi Police on Sunday evening entered the campus of Jamia Millia University after protests against Citizenship Act turned violent in South Delhi. They resorted to tear gas shelling and lathicharge inside the campus after tensions erupted in Sarai Juleina and Mathura Road earlier in the day. According to police, four buses were allegedly set on fire after which four fire engines were pressed to service to douse the flames.
JNU teachers' association (JNUTA) condemned the entry of the police in Jamia campus. In a statement, the body said, 'The JNUTA condemns the unauthorised entry of the Delhi Police into the Jamia Millia Islamia campus and the orgy of violence inflicted by them across the campus on students and others. The alleged incidents of arson outside the University by unknown miscreants provide no justification for the police excesses against hundreds of students who have been engaged in a peaceful protest.'
Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha on Sunday criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his party, JD(U), for supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in both the Houses of Parliament and paving the way for it to become a law.
Kushwaha, former Union minister, said the ruling JD(U) has become BJP's 'B' team by supporting the legislation.
"My elder brother Nitish Kumar is in quandary. He met the Assamese delegation on the issue. He went to Assam and opposed the CAB. But JD(U) has surrendered to BJP in Parliament on the issue and become 'B' team of the saffron party," Kushwaha said while addressing a function organised here by RLSP's youth wing to commemorate the death anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. (PTI)
This is the conflict between two ideologies - one that divides India on the basis of religion and our ideology that wants to celebrate the diversity of India: Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Gowda at India Against CAA protests in Bengaluru.
This country was founded on the principle of diversity. We want democracy, we want pluralism: Author and historian Ramchandra Guha says during India Against CAA protests in Bengaluru.
BJP MLA Himata Biswa Sarma, said, 'Day curfew will be withdrawn completely in Guwahati from Monday, December 16, 2019 as the city is limping back to normalcy. However curfew during nights, from 9 pm to 6 am, will continue for the time being.'
According to Delhi Fire Service, students of Jamia Millia Islamia University blocked the way of one of the fire tenders and damaged it. Two firemen were also injured in the violence, they said. Follow LIVE Updates