Citizenship law protests shake 'firm like rock' government

New Delhi: Amid protests across the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act, a delegation of 19 Opposition leaders on Tuesday met President Ram Nath Kovind and urged him to ask the Narendra Modi government roll back the legislation.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Congress' interim president Sonia Gandhi said the whole country is agitating on the CAA, and the Opposition was anguished with the police action against the protesters in the northeast and in Delhi.

"Delhi is an example where the police have trespassed into the Jamia women's hostel and dragged them out.... they have beaten up students mercilessly, you have seen that the Modi government seems to have no compassion when it comes to shutting down people's voices," she said, adding that it is "really disturbing and shocking".

She said, "The situation in the Northeast which is now spreading throughout the country, including the capital because of the Act, is a very serious situation.

We fear that it may spread even further. We are anguished at the manner in which the police dealt with peaceful demonstration."

She accused BJP government of shutting down people's voices and bringing legislations which are not acceptable to them.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said that "the government knew that what is going to happen but did nothing on it, and in Assam five people have died and many have bullet wounds".

The Opposition leaders assembled at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament House before proceeding to the Rashtrapati Bhavan with Sonia Gandhi leading them.

The Opposition delegation also included Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, DMK's TR Baalu, Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien, and the Communist Party of India-Marxist's Sitaram Yechury.