Amit Shah's visit to Meghalaya cancelled amid anti-CAB protests

New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Shillong, Meghalaya which was scheduled on Sunday has been cancelled according to sources from the Home Ministry. The movie comes in amid raging protests over the Citizenship Act. The BJP chief has also cancelled his visit to Arunachal Pradesh on Monday.

A per the set schedule, Amit Shah was supposed to visit the North-East Police Academy in Shillong for the passing out parade. The next day, he was supposed to visit Tawang for a festival. The Home Minister will now be visiting Jharkhand on Saturday and Monday to campaign for ongoing elections.

Northeastern states have been engulfed in violent protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which enables Indian citizenship for non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India before 2015. The police used tear gas and lathi-charge on protesters who reportedly pelted stones at them. Amid the protests, mobile internet services have been suspended across Meghalaya for the next 48 hours.

Thousands of protesters defied the government-imposed curfew on Thursday, and two people were killed in police firing. The army has been patrolling districts across Assam. Internet has also been suspended in ten districts of Assam, where protests have increasingly been getting violent.

The Citizenship Act states that Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian refugees can apply for Indian citizenship after living in India for five years instead of 11 years, as per the law previously.

Northeastern states fear the law will lead to legitimizing of immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and change the demographic and culture of the region.

Amid the protests, three high profile visits have been cancelled. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was to attend a summit in Assam's Guwahati next week, has cancelled his visit. Two Bangladesh ministers have also called off their visit.