Citizenship Amendment Act Updates: Protests Turn Violent In Delhi, Bengal

Internet services were on Sunday suspended in five districts of West Bengal, amid violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act across the state, a senior government official said. The government has decided to shutdown Internet services in Malda, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and parts of South 24 Parganas districts to prevent rumour-mongering and circulation of fake news, especially on social media, the official said.

The Asom Gana Parishad, an ally of the ruling BJP, would file a petition in the Supreme Court praying for revocation of the amended Citizenship Act, party leader Kumar Deepak Das said on Sunday. He asserted that the AGP respected the sentiments of common people, who were wary that the law might threaten their identity and existence. Sources said a delegation of the AGP, led by Das, would leave for Delhi in the evening to file the plea in the apex court.

Violence erupted on Mathura Road in southeast Delhi following a clash between police and Jamia Millia Islamia students who were protesting against the amended Citizenship Act. The protesters torched DTC buses and a fire tender was damaged, police claimed. A Delhi Fire Services official said four fire tenders were rushed to the spot.
One fire tender was completely damaged and two personnel were injured, he said.

According to Saimon Farooqui, national secretary of Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India, the protesters were peacefully sitting on Mathura Road when policemen tried to “trouble” a couple of protesters, who resisted. Thereafter, police started lathi-charging the protesters and using teargas, he alleged. Another student claimed that after the policemen used force, some protesters torched buses and indulged in vandalism.

Amid protests against the amended citizenship law, the BJP on Sunday announced a nationwide campaign to spread awareness about the legislation and asserted that it is not discriminatory against Muslims or any other community. Party spokesperson Sambit Patra said in a press conference that BJP workers will fan out across the country to inform people about the law which seeks to provide citizenship to the religious minorities from three neighbouring countries who arrived in India to escape religious persecution. “There is no provision in this law that even a single right of our Muslim brothers and sisters will be taken away.”

The curfew imposed in Guwahati and parts of Dibrugarh district following protests against the amended Citizenship Act was relaxed today, police said. Curfew was relaxed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Guwahati. It was also relaxed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Dibrugarh west, Naharkatia, Tenughat and some other places in the district, officials said. Long queues were seen outside shops at several places, including Dispur, Uzan Bazar, Chandmari, Silpukhuri and Zoo Road in Guwahati town.

The entry and exit gates at Janpath metro station were reopened on Saturday after being closed for nearly two hours in view of a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had closed entry and exit gates of the station after a police advisory.

“Entry & exit gates at all stations have been opened. Normal services have resumed in all stations,” the DMRC tweeted.

The Left parties on Saturday appealed to Rashtriya Janata Dal to advance its 'Bihar bandh' by two days to Dec. 19 to combine it with their proposed nationwide joint protest against the amended Citizenship Act on that day.

Lalu Prasad’s RJD has given call for a Bihar bandh on Dec. 21 to protest against the legislation, alleging that it has blown the Constitution to smithereens.

The Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)-Liberation, All India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party, in a joint statement, alleged that the Act would destroy the secular democratic foundations of India.

“The Left parties appeal to RJD to advance its Bihar bandh to Dec. 19 as we will organise a joint nationwide protest against the amended Citizenship Act and the National Register of Citizens on that day,” Bihar CPI state secretary Satya Narain Singh said in the statement.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, today, said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act would ‘shred the soul’ of India as she launched a scathing attack on ‘Modi-Shah government’ over the law, alleging their sole agenda was to make people fight to serve their politics, and vowed that her party would not retreat in its struggle against injustice.

Addressing the party’s mega ‘Bharat Bachao Rally’ (Save India) at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, she also targeted the government over the economic situation and exhorted people to raise their voice to protect the country and its Constitution. “The Congress and only Congress has always fought for people’s rights. And today too, the Congress party is not going to retreat. Till our last breath, we will fulfil our duty towards protecting the country, democracy and the Constitution”, she said.

“The greatest sin is to bear injustice. So raise your voice to the Modi-Shah government and tell them that we are ready to give any kind of sacrifice for the protection of democracy. And we are ready for any kind of struggle to protect the Constitution.” Talking about the new amended citizenship law, Sonia Gandhi said it has been on BJP’s agenda for a long time now.

“They are not bothered that this new Citizenship (Amendment) Act will shred the soul of India, as is happening in Assam and other northeastern states. It is for India's soul that our great nation builders and Babasaheb Ambedkar struggled hard, but I can say with confidence that our country’s basic foundation does not allow such discriminatory actions. I assure you that the Congress will stand by all those against whom injustice is done,” she said.

The Opposition Congress and the AIUDF have separately requested the Assam Assembly Speaker to call a special session to discuss the concerns expressed by the people of the state on the amended Citizenship Act.

Assam has been on the boil for the past several days as thousands of people have come out on the streets to protest against the amended Citizenship Act. Two persons were killed in police firing on Thursday, while an oil tanker driver was charred to death when the vehicle was torched on Saturday.

“You must be aware of the situation in Assam following the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by the Lok Sabha,” Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Debabrata Saikia of the Congress wrote to Speaker Hiten Goswami.

He said people including students and senior citizens took to the streets across Assam to express their pain and grievances over the Bill that threatens the existence of the indigenous people.

“The situation became serious when the Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha leading to imposition of curfew in various parts of the state,” Saikia said in his letter on Friday.

The amended Act will negate the Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people as enumerated in the Assam Accord, the Congress leader claimed.

There is a possibility that the demographic pattern of Assam will be changed following the implementation of the amended Citizenship Act and the people will lose their right to decide their political fate in their own state, he said.

“As states in India have been constituted on the basis of language and not religion, the existence of Assam will be threatened,” Saikia said.

Another opposition party, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), also sought a special session of the Assembly to discuss the issue.

“Mass agitation is going on in Assam against the CAB which has been passed by both the Houses of Parliament. Our party's stand is against the Bill. We consider it will go against the interest of Assam,” AIUDF Legislature Party leader Hafiz Bashir Ahmed, chief whip Mamum Imdadul Haq Choudhury and two other MLAs wrote to the Speaker on Friday.

The Speaker had on Thursday said, “Though I should not comment on the Act as I am discharging Constitutional duties as Speaker, but as a person working for the nation and community through the Assam Agitation I feel that the doubt created by this Act is not baseless.”

Amid protests in the Northeast over the amended Citizenship Act, the Army, today, advised people to not fall prey to ‘fake news’ directed against the force.

The Army posted a collage of screenshots of social media accounts, accusing them of spreading misinformation against the force by accusing it of carrying out atrocities.

The Army rejected the allegations.

“Please desist from spreading misinformation. Some ill-intentioned (people) are spreading rumours on social media. Be careful of such fake news. The Indian Army — the Army of the country,” read a tweet on the official twitter handle of the Indian Army.

Employees of the Assam government Saturday announced that they will go for cease work on Dec. 18 in protest against the amended Citizenship Act.

Sadou Asam Karmachari Parishad (SAKP) President Basab Kalita told PTI that all employees of the state government across Assam will not attend offices on Dec. 18.

“We have opposed the Bill since the beginning and will continue to do so till the Act is revoked," he said. When members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee came to the state in May last year to take opinion of the people of Assam on the Bill, the SAKP had submitted a memorandum raising objections, Kalita said. “We have also extended our support to the AASU in its three-day 'Satyagraha' from Dec. 16,” he added.

The employees had also supported the protesting students on Dec. 11 and came out of their offices in the state secretariat with placards 'No CAB'.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation today closed the entry and exit gates at Janpath metro station in view of a protest at Jantar Mantar here against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

On Friday also, entry and exit gates at Patel Chowk and Janpath metro stations were closed for over an hour owing to protests against the amended citizenship act.

The stations were closed following a Delhi Police advisory in view of the protest march by Jamia Millia Islamia students from the university campus to Parliament to express their opposition to the controversial legislation.

Railways is running special trains from Guwahati to help stranded passengers in Assam, where protests are underway against the Citizenship Amendment Act, officials said today.

Special passenger trains are being run in Guwahati to reach their destination in upper Assam.

One such train was operated on Friday to Dimapur. Another was run to Furkating, the main railway junction in Assam's Golaghat district on Saturday and another to Dibrugarh.

A special passenger train from Guwahati to Dimapur will run at 2:30 pm from Guwahati tonight, they said.

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.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee warned of strict action amid violent agitations and vandalism in several places across the state by people protesting against the amended Citizenship Act.

She appealed to people to maintain calm and protest democratically.

“Do not take up law in your hand. Do not put up road blockades and rail blockades and create trouble for the common people on the roads. Do not cause damage to government properties. Strict action would be taken against those who are found guilty in creating disturbances,” Banerjee said in a statement released from the chief minister's office.

She also reiterated that the amended Citizenship Act and the proposed country-wide NRC will not take effect in the state.

“It is my request, don’t create confusion among people,” she said.

The U.S. has issued a travel advisory for its citizens asking them to ‘exercise caution’ while travelling to the northeast India, which has witnessed violent protests against the amended citizenship act.

The advisory also said the U.S. government has temporarily suspended official travels to Assam, the epicentre of the protests.

“U.S. citizens in the northeastern states of India should exercise caution in light of media reports of protests and violence in response to the approval of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. Government curfews are in place in some areas. Internet and mobile communications may be disrupted. Transport may be affected in various parts,” the advisory read.

The U.S. Embassy has also listed out precautions for its citizens staying in the northeastern states, asking them to avoid areas with ‘demonstrations and civil disturbances’, being aware of their surroundings, and keep a ‘low profile’ among others.

In an indication that Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister Kamal Nath will not implement the new citizenship law, he said that the new legislation is ‘divisive’ in nature and ‘against the spirit of the Constitution’.

“The Congress party has been of the view from the beginning that any move aimed at dividing the Indian culture and society is against the spirit of the Constitution and is unacceptable to it. The Congress party's stand would be our stand in Madhya Pradesh,” he added.

The curfew, imposed in parts of Shillong amid violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act, was relaxed today from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. as the law and order situation improved, officials said.

Offices and a few shops have opened in the state capital, East Khasi Hills’ District Deputy Commissioner MW Nongbri told PTI. “The curfew has been relaxed due to the improved law and order situation.”

Nongbri said traffic has been normal since morning in the city and there was no report of any untoward incident in the past 12 hours.

The curfew was relaxed on Friday for 12 hours, beginning 10 a.m.

Internet services across Assam will remain suspended till Dec. 16 to prevent alleged misuse of social media in disturbing peace and to maintain law and order in the state, officials said on Saturday.

“Suspension of internet services have been extended for another 48 hours keeping in view the prevailing law and order situation in the state,” Additional Chief Secretary of Home And Political Department Sanjay Krishna told PTI.

“The services have been suspended as social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and YouTube among others 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.”

Internet services were suspended on Wednesday initially for 24 hours in ten districts of the state, and then extended for another 48 hours across the state, scheduled to expire this afternoon.

The curfew, imposed in Guwahati amid protests against the amended Citizenship Act, was relaxed on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., police said.

Long queues were seen outside shops at several places, including Dispur, Uzan Bazar, Chandmari, Silpukhuri and Zoo Road. Auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws were plying across the city. However, buses were off roads. Petrol pumps in the city have also opened with vehicles waiting in lines to refuel.

Police are using loudspeakers to inform the public about the relaxation, a spokesperson said. Schools and offices, however, remained shut.

Road and rail blockades continued in different parts of West Bengal on Saturday by people protesting against the amended Citizenship Act.

Incidents of violence were reported from Murshidabad and North 24 Paraganas districts, and rural Howrah, police said.

The National Highway 34, one of the arterial roads that connect north and south Bengal, was blocked in Murshidabad. Several other roads in the district were also blocked, the police said.

Train movements were also blocked in the Sealdah- Hasnabad section of the Eastern Railway. The agitators have been staging sit-ins on the tracks at Shondaliya and Kakra Mirzapur stations of the section since 6.25 a.m., a railway spokesperson said.

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Dilip Ghosh said the Citizenship Amendment Act will be implemented in the state and neither Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee nor her party, Trinamool Congress, will be able to stop it.

“Bengal, for that matter, would be the first state where it (Citizenship Amendment Bill) would be implemented,” Ghosh said.

Protests demanding immediate revocation of the amended Citizenship Act reached the shores of West Bengal on Friday, with agitators resorting to violence and arson at railway stations and thoroughfares across the state.

Schools, colleges and markets were shut and vehicles remained largely off roads in parts of Nagaland on Saturday amid a six-hour shutdown call given by the Naga Students' Federation.

No untoward incident has been reported so far from the Naga inhabited areas where the shutdown began at 6 a.m. The sudden shutdown, announced by the NSF on Friday to express resentment of the Naga population against the law, will continue till 12 p.m.

The United States is concerned about the implications of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in India, a top American diplomat responsible for monitoring international religious freedom said.

"One of India's great strengths is its Constitution. As a fellow democracy, we respect India's institutions, but are concerned about the implications of the CAB Bill," Sam Brownback, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, said in a tweet.

The comments come days before next week's 2+2 ministerial between India and the U.S. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are scheduled to arrive at Washington DC next week for the second 2+2 ministerial with their respective American counterparts— Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe postponed his planned visit to India amid violent protests in the northeast over the new citizenship law.

Abe was scheduled to begin his visit on Sunday and had been slated to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Assam.

India’s new Citizenship Amendment Bill that was approved this week changed the rules governing the granting of citizenship to undocumented migrants to include religion as a criterion. It bars undocumented Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan from seeking citizenship, while allowing their counterparts from other religions to do so.

As both houses of Parliament passed the bill and President Ramnath Kovind signed it into law, angry protests erupted in Assam with thousands clashing with police amid concerns the new laws may lead to an influx of migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. There have also been demonstrations in other northeastern states including Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura, forcing the government to send in hundreds of soldiers to aid local police.

Adding to the fear and anxiety is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party government has also vowed to implement a National Register of Citizens to weed out undocumented migrants similar to the one carried out in Assam in August.