Protests erupt as CAB gets Prez nod

Protests erupt as CAB gets Prez nod
x
Highlights

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his visit to the states of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh amid widespread protests across the northeast states against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, that was given assent by the President making it an Act.

New Delhi/ Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his visit to the states of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh amid widespread protests across the northeast states against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, that was given assent by the President making it an Act.

Violence broke out in West Bengal on Friday against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) as also a possible NRC exercise in the state as protesters vandalised and set fire to railway stations, disrupting train services.

In Beldanga in Murshidabad district, a mob torched the station master's cabin and ransacked the ticket counter before setting it on fire. The protesters, carrying posters against the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), vandalised the Beldanga railway station of Eastern Railway, forcing the railway employees to flee to save their lives. They also blockaded the track, disrupting train movement between Lalgola and Krishnanagar.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMCR) has closed entry and exit at Patel Chowk and Janpath metro stations due to students' protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

"As advised by Delhi Police, entry & exit at Patel Chowk and Janpath have been closed. Trains will not be halting at these stations," DMRC said on Twitter. Students from Jamia Milia Islamia have called for a march to Parliament House from the university campus to express their opposition to the controversial legislation.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has cancelled his visit to India amid violent protests in the northeast over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. "Both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. The talks between PM Modi and Abe was due to take place from December 15 to 17.

The indefinite curfew which was in force in Assam's Dibrugarh municipal area in view of the violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, was relaxed for five hours on Friday even as a large number of protesters joined AASU's call for a 10-hour hunger strike in Chandmari area of Guwahati.

The curfew in Dibrugarh was lifted from 8 am to 1 pm. AASU chief advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya, however, said that the protests will continue. "We will not succumb to any pressure and our agitation will continue," he said. The Union Home Ministry kept around 20 companies — around 2,000 personnel — of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) on standby to move to Assam on Friday.

Show Full Article
Print Article
Next Story
More Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENTS