Tag: Citizenship-Act

Citizenship Act: Kanhaiya Kumar detained with several others in Bihar ahead of protest rally.

Source – scroll.in

Communist Party of India leader Kanhaiya Kumar and several others were detained on Thursday in Bettiah city in West Champaran district of Bihar, reported Republic. The Bihar Police swung into action just before Kumar was scheduled to begin a “Jan-Gana-Man yatra” against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens.

Speaking to reporters as the police took him away, Kumar said although the administration wants all Indians to show documentary proof of being citizens, the police would not show him the papers for his detention orders, reported News18. The protestors had gathered outside the Bhitiharwa Gandhi Ashram.

Kumar said the police had earlier granted permission for the protest march, but revoked it on Wednesday night. The month-long march was to start from Champaran on Thursday to coincide with Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary.

The former JNU student has held several protest rallies against the amended citizenship law. The former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president had lashed out at the Centre over the arrests of prominent activists who organised protests. He had called the government a “coward and liar”.

Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act are continuing across the country, more than a month after it was passed in Parliament. The amendments, notified on January 10, provide citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, provided they have lived in India for six years and entered the country by December 31, 2014. Twenty-six people died in last month’s protests against the law – all in the BJP-ruled states of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Assam.

The government’s critics and some protestors fear that the amended law and the National Register of Citizens will be misused to target Muslims since the Citizenship Act now has religion as a criterion. There are now fears that a nation-wide National Register of Citizens will be imposed. The Assam NRC had left out around 6% of the state’s population. Work has also begun on the National Population Register, which is the first step to creating an all-Indian NRC identifying undocumented migrants residing in India.

Curfew after attack on pro-CAA procession.

Source – telegraphindia.com

A procession of 4,000 people, including women, out in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was attacked in Lohardaga on Thursday, prompting the police to clamp an indefinite curfew in the town.

Over 50 persons, including policemen, were injured in the attack on the procession organised by local Hindutva outfit Jai Sriram Samiti with permission from the administration.

The procession, starting from the Lalit Narayan stadium, was supposed to end at Kutchery Chowk. But around 12.15pm, when it reached Somar Bazaar, a predominantly minority settlement, people, many from rooftops, started pelting stones on the procession. Eyewitnesses said at least 20 vehicles and a couple of houses and shops were also torched.

“They set my jewellery shop on fire and attacked my house. In front of my eyes, they set as many as four bikes on fire,” said Manoj Soni, owner of Shobha Jewellers.

Attackers then fanned out to Lohardaga Sadar Hospital and Amla Toli Chowk areas. They pelted stones at Lohardaga Sadar Hospital. Stray bullets were also fired.

“Patients were screaming in fear,” a hospital employee said. “Somehow we managed to lock the main gate.”

People, including women, ran for shelter and frantically called up the police.

Lohardaga superintendent of police Priyadarshi Alok and deputy commissioner Akanksha Ranjan hit the streets to control the situation. Additional forces arrived from Simdega.

Police also fired teargas shells and bullets in the air to disperse the crowd.

Later in the afternoon, the district administration imposed indefinite curfew.

South Chotanagpur range deputy inspector-general of police A.V. Homkar said everything was being done to prevent the flare-up from snowballing. “Attackers had resorted to arson. Firefighting vehicles have been pressed to douse the fires. We are carrying out heavy patrolling,” he said.

Unconfirmed sources said that the mob even snatched the gun of a cop.

A bodyguard of the Lohardaga SP was heard saying that stones pelted from near the site of worship left him injured.

An employee of sadar hospital said not only was there heavy stone pelting, gunshots were also fired at the hospital. “Patients were screaming in fear,” he said. “Somehow we managed to lock the main gate of the hospital.”

Lohardaga civil surgeon Dr Vijay Kumar said patients and employees were safe. “As many as 25 injured persons were treated here (sadar hospital) and discharged. One seriously injured person has been referred to RIMS in Ranchi,” he said.