Anti-CAA protests: BJP leader justifies killing of Mangaluru protesters

Senior Tamil Nadu BJP leader justified police firing at a recent protest in Mangaluru which killed two protesters. He said the authorities will respond to attacks with guns or bricks. "Our response to guns will also be through guns," BJP national secretary H Raja said in Chennai on Friday, talking about a demonstration against the amended Citizenship Act, a law critics believe deliberately discriminates against Muslims.

Two people -- Jaleel, 49, and Nauseen, 23 -- were killed in police firing in Mangaluru, a port city in BJP-ruled Karnataka, on Thursday.

He alleged that the two wanted to "kill" hundreds of people. "They wanted to kill hundreds of people. So police had no other go. They had to resort to firing.

Their intention was to set the whole country on fire. The policemen were attacked." said Raja, who is notorious for his controversial remarks time and again.

H Raja appealed to the Chennai Police to deny the opposition DMK party permission for an anti-CAA rally on December 23, and warned of violence.

He asked students to enjoy the Christmas holidays instead of participating in the protests for the country.

Countrywide protests against the Citizenship Act grew in intensity this week after the Delhi Police were accused of using excessive force against students in Delhi. Several have been killed in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Assam in recent days.

The Citizenship Amendment Act fast-tracks naturalisation for illegal immigrants from six non-Muslim minority religious groups who fled persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh. The government denies the charge that the law is anti-Muslim and insists Indian Muslims need not worry.