Meanwhile, the North East Students' Organisation (NESO) called an 11-hour bandh against the Bill on Tuesday, which was marked by deserted roads, closed educational institutions and banks, markets and vehicles set on fire, huge processions raising slogans. Exams at Guwahati University and Dibrugarh University were postponed due to the bandh.The Tripura government suspended SMS and mobile internet connectivity for 48-hours starting 2 pm on Tuesday. Police resorted to lathicharge in Hatigaon, Dispur and Ganeshguri areas in Guwahati where protesters resorted to stone-pelting and burnt tyres and two-wheelers.
The CAB is a contentious issue in North-East India with influential socio-political groups and political parties holding it as a threat to the interests of the indigenous communities of the region. Earlier this year, several organisations observed a bandh on January 8 when the earlier Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed. The revised bill exempts the whole of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and almost the whole of Meghalaya, and parts of Assam and Tripura.
A curfew has been imposed in Dibrugarh district of Assam till further orders, ANI reported. Protesters vandalised Chabua and Panitola railway stations and set fire to properties there. Dibrugarh and Tinsukia railway stations have been put on high alert.
After a day-long debate, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The Army will be deployed in Guwahati by Wednesday night, its public relations officer Lt Col P Khongsai told PTI. "Two columns of the Army are being moved to Guwahati right now and will reach the city soon," he said. They will be deployed on reaching the city and will carry out flag marches, he said.
Amid violent protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: Assam Police ADG (Law and Order) Mukesh Agrawal. (PTI)
In the protests in the Northeast against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019, the outrage has been most intense, sustained and widespread in Assam. Large parts of the other Northeastern states have been exempted from the ambit of the CAB, although there have been protests there too. On the other hand, the larger part of Assam is under CAB. READ MORE
Protesters take out a torchlight procession while protesting against Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in Guwahati. (Photo: AP)
Quoting Assam DGP, PTI reported that curfew has been imposed in Guwahati till 7 am Thursday.
Internet will be suspended as "social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and You Tube etc are likely to be used for spreading of rumours and also for transmission of information like pictures, videos and texts that have the potential to inflame passions and does exacerbate the law and order situation", the notification said. It further stated that there have been protests in different parts of the state and there are probabilities of intensifying such protests which may adversely affect the law and order situation.
BJP's Subramanian Swamy: "Congress seems confused between CAB and NRC and have misled the House in some way."
"If you look at the percentage of Hindus and Sikhs and other non-Muslim religion in 1952 in Pakistan, we see a large decline in their population. Same thing is in Bangladesh. We see news about their persecution on a daily basis."
The civil administration has notified about the suspension of mobile internet services in the ten districts of Assam, namely —Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup. The services shall remain suspended from 7 pm Wednesday to 7 pm Thursday.
Calling the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill ‘insidious’, veteran Congress leader P Chidambaram Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that the central government was ramming through the contentious Bill to “advance its Hindutva agenda”. “We have a Citizenship Act in this country. It recognises citizenship by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and by incorporation of territory. Now, this government is introducing a new category called Citizenship by arbitrary executive fiat,” Chidambaram told the Upper House.
In the wake of protests against the controversial Bill, all exams scheduled till December 16 in Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University have been postponed.
A group of people from northeastern states gathered at the Jantar Mantar here on Wednesday to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. The protesters slammed the government on the bill and raised slogans like: "We oppose CAB" and "We need Justice". (PTI)
Tripura Police, Tripura State Rifles and Assam Rifles have been deployed on the ground to tackle security risks at Sadhupara in West Tripura, where different groups of anti-CAB activists are agitating for last three days.
(Express photo by Debraj Deb)
The Centre on Wednesday airlifted 5,000 paramilitary personnel to Northeastern states, including Assam, for maintenance of law and order duties in wake protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which is being debated in Parliament, officials said. Nearly 20 companies (2,000 personnel) have been withdrawn from Kashmir, where they had been sent prior to the Centre's decision on August 5 to abrogate Article 370 provisions and split the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories. The remaining 30 companies have been withdrawn from other places and rushed to Northeastern states, the officials said. The troops are from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). (PTI)
The Indian Army stated Wednesday that the civil administration has requested its assistance in maintaining law and order situation in Assam and Tripura. "Three Army columns requisitioned by civil administration so far in Tripura and Assam. Two (Tripura) are deployed and third (Assam) is standby," the Army statement said.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said the dynamics in the Rajya Sabha were different from that of the Lok Sabha and asserted that the government will have to answer their queries on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, before they can expect support from the Maharashtra-based party.
Congress on Wednesday raised the issue of violent protest in the North East against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and demanded that the draft law which is "unconstitutional", "anti-India" and "anti-northeast" should be withdrawn. On Monday, the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311 members favouring it and 80 voting against it. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi of Congress said that in Nagaland there was no internet service and claimed that in some places in the northeastern states the people have swords in their hands against the bill. 'Withdraw this bill' which is 'unconstitutional', 'anti India' and "Anti North East", he said.
Meanwhile, left trade unions staged a long march against NRC, public sector disinvestment in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Banners against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill were raised at the ongoing International Film Festival of Kerala on Tuesday (IFFK). Read more here
Fierce demonstrations were held against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Guwahati. Tear gas was used by the security forces on protestors.