Mangaluru: Two persons died due to bullet injuries when police fired at anti-Citizenship Act protesters in the coastal Karnataka city of Mangaluru on Thursday evening. The deceased have been identified as Nausheen, 28, and Jaleel Kandak, 45.
Many protesters, including former mayor of Mangaluru City Corporation K Ashraf, were injured in the police lathi charge.
Hospitals have been asked not to divulge details of the injured to the media or public. Curfew has been imposed in five police station limits in Mangaluru city.
Reacting to the Mangaluru incident, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation's bus enroute to Bengaluru was stopped by DYFI and Campus Front members at Kozhikode. Congress workers burnt tyres at Kozhikode's Mavoor road in protest.
Kerala DGP Loknath Behera has asked the northern districts of Kerala to remain alert following the incident.
A Lucknow man was killed as violence erupted in the state capital and some other parts of Uttar Pradesh with protesters, angry over the new citizenship law, pelting stones at police and torching vehicles.
Protests have been raging across India against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) with the police detaining hundreds of persons in different parts of the country.
Among the prominent personalities arrested are historian Ramachandra Guha, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat, Nilotpal Basu, CPI leader D Raja and student leader Umar Khalid. While Guha was detained in Bengaluru, all others were detained in New Delhi.
According to reports, about 1,200 protesters were detained on Thursday in the capital alone.
•An 'Undeclared Emergency'
Opposition parties on Thursday alleged that an "undeclared Emergency" has been imposed in the country in the light of restrictions and detention of thousands for defying prohibitory orders to deal with the mounting protests against the new citizenship law in multiple cities.
The Congress accused the government of muzzling the voice of people through "draconian measures" and said there is an "undeclared Emergency" while the CPI-M asserted the situation was worse than that during the Emergency with internet shut and metro stations closed in Delhi and the crackdown on the protests.
Currently, the prohibitory orders banning the gathering of four or more persons have been imposed in parts of Delhi, UP, Karnataka, Meghalaya and Hyderabad among others. The Home Ministry summoned a meeting Thursday evening to review the security situation in the state.
Here are the major developments of Thursday:
DELHI
Section 144 has been imposed in several parts of Delhi and internet services were suspended following the demonstrations in the city.
•IndiGo cancels 19 flights in Delhi
Indigo Airlines had to cancel 19 flights in Delhi due to its crew getting stuck at traffic jams caused by the anti-CAA protests in the capital city. According to the Delhi International Airport Limited 16 flights have been delayed.
Vistara, Air Asia and Indigo have also offered to waive cancellation fee as well as rescheduling fee for all flights to and from Delhi.
•Leaders, students detained
Opposition leaders including D Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Nilotpal Basu, Brinda Karat, Ajay Maken, Sandeep Dikshit and activists Yogendra Yadav, Umar Khalid, were among those detained near the Red Fort and Mandi House - the sites of the two demonstrations in Delhi.
In the area around the Red Fort, scores of protestors were dragged into buses by police in a bid to clear the area where Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed.
"I have just been detained from Lal Qila. About a thousand protesters already detained. Thousands on the way," Yadav tweeted.
"How many people will your jails hold? As Gandhiji said, once people lose the fear of being detained, they are free. Then the oppressors have lost. That is what is happening with the CAA protests," tweeted activist Prashant Bhushan.
As they were not allowed to proceed to venue of the protests, small demonstrations were held in several areas including Rajghat, Shantivan, Daryaganj and the area near Inter State Bus Terminal in Kashmiri Gate.
The Delhi Police has urged protestors to go to the designated place for their protest.
"We urge people to not listen to any rumours. Section 144 has already been imposed in the area. Please cooperate with the Delhi Police," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Mandeep Singh Randhawa.
Meanwhile, Kerala's CPI(M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan stated his indignation at the arrest of the party's leaders and tweeted that 'denial of permission and prisons will not silence us'.
Makkal Needhi Maiam chief and Tamil actor Kamal Haasan also lashed out at the police action against historian Ramchandra Guha and Swaraj Abhiyaan chief Yogendra Yadav during the anti-CAA protests, and expressed "concern" over their safety.
In a tweet, Haasan said he was applauding with "glee the stupidity of the government for stoking the fire of Satyagaraha by arresting" Guha and Yadav.
•Internet suspended
Internet, voice and messaging services by Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio were suspended in parts of Delhi-NCR following instructions from the police.
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal said the company had complied with a government directive in this regard.
As per the order, services were suspended for locations including walled city areas of north and central districts, Mandi House, Seelampur, Jaffarbad, Mustafabad, Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh and Bawana.
Ironically, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a free WiFi scheme on Thursday. He said it was paradoxical that internet services were shut by authorities on this day due to protests against the amended Citizenship Act in the city.
The Delhi Police has written to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to remove objectionable content from nearly 60 accounts, an officer said on Thursday, asserting that the force is working to quell rumours on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
•Delhi HC declines protection to students
The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre, the Delhi government and the police on a PIL seeking setting up of a fact finding committee to look into violence at Jamia Millia Islamia University here during protests against the CAA.
A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel however, declined interim protection to students from coercive action including arrest.
Lawyers chanted "shame shame" after the high court declined students interim protection.
The court's decision came while hearing six petitions seeking medical treatment and compensation for injured students in the protests against CAA over the past few days.
Meanwhile, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan announced Rs 5 lakh and a job at the Delhi Waqf Board to a Jamia student who suffered an eye injury during the protests.
Minhajuddin was injured on Sunday when the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest at Jamia Millia Islamia turned violent.
UTTAR PRADESH
Violent protests broke out in Lucknow against the new citizenship law on Thursday afternoon when a mob pelted stones and torched vehicles parked outside a police post.
DGP O.P Singh said police had to fire tear-gas shells to control the situation in Madeyganj area. Tension was palpable in some other areas, especially the Muslim-dominated Old City areas, and police officials were having a tough time maintaining law and order.
• One killed in 'firearm incident'
A Lucknow man was killed as violence erupted in the state capital and some other parts of Uttar Pradesh with protesters, angry over the new citizenship law, pelting stones at police and torching vehicles.
Mohammad Wakeel (25) suffered a firearm injury when he was passing through an old city area where the clashes took place, his family members said.
The police, however, denied that the firearm injury had anything to do with the protests or the police action.
Meanwhile, Congress sources said, UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu was detained when he was leading a protest in the busy Parivartan Chowk, near the District Magistrate's office.
Internet services were suspended in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal after a public bus was set ablaze and another damaged as protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act turned violent, District Magistrate Avinash K Singh said.
•Will seize, auction property of those involved in violence: Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said his government will avenge the destruction of public assets during the protests over the amended citizenship law by seizing and auctioning off the property of those involved in the violence.
"There is no place for violence in a democracy. In the name of opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act, the Congress, SP and Left parties have pushed the entire country into fire, he said.
•AMU's silent protest
Several teachers of the Aligarh Muslim University held silent march opposing the act on Thursday, days after the institute witnessed police crackdown against its students who were agitating against the new legislation.
"We want to convey to the people of India that our struggle against the Citizens (Amendment) Act will continue peacefully within the democratic framework of the system," AMU Teachers Association secretary, Professor Najmul Islam said.
•Mobile internet services suspended in Ghaziabad, Lucknow
Mobile internet services have been suspended in Ghaziabad for 24 hours from 10 pm, and until noon in Lucknow on Thursday in view of violent protests against the new citizenship law in parts of Uttar Pradesh, an official said.
The action has been taken to avoid spreading of hate messages on social media with an aim to disturb the communal peace and harmony, the official said.
KARNATAKA
Protests were held at several places of the State, including Hubballi, Kalaburagi, Hassan, Mysuru and Ballary where police detained demonstrators who violated prohibitory orders.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday called for peace and tried to allay fears among the Muslim community regarding the law.
•Historian Guha among those detained
Historian Ramachandra Guha was detained on Thursday during a protest against Citizenship Act in Bengaluru while participating in a protest at the Town Hall.
Guha said it was "absolutely undemocratic" that police was not allowing even a peaceful protest, which is the democratic right of the citizens.
Responding to Guha's arrest Mamata tweeted:
"This government is scared of students. This government is scared of one of India's most accomplished historians for speaking to the media on #CAB #NRC and holding a poster of GandhiJi. I condemn the detention of Ram Guha. We extend our full solidarity to all those detained."
Chairperson and Managing Director of biopharmaceuticals enterprise Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw expressed shock over the police action.
•Siddaramaiah hits out
Hitting out at Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa for his government's decision to clamp down on protests against Citizenship Amendment Act, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday asked him not to be "undemocratic".
In a series of tweets, the senior Congress leader told the Chief Minister that he was being used as a pawn to fulfill the agenda of RSS, and called on him to strengthen the forces that fight against fascism.
•'People from Kerala behind Mangaluru violence'
People from neighbouring Kerala indulged in violence in Mangaluru during protests against the amended citizenship law, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai claimed on Thursday.
"People who had come from Kerala to participate in the protest also tried to set fire to a police station in Mangaluru and damaged public property. To control the mob, police had to use force," Bommai told reporters here.
WEST BENGAL
•Internet resumed in Howrah
The West Bengal government on Thursday afternoon gave its nod to resumption of internet services in Howrah district besides Baruipur and Canning subdivisions of South 24 Parganas district, a senior state government official said.
A review was conducted in those areas which found that the situation had improved there and internet services could be resumed, the official said.
The decision of restoring internet services fully in Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur districts and Basirhat and Barasat subdivisions of North 24 Parganas district will be taken afterwards
•Calls for a UN-monitored referendum
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dared the Modi government to go for a UN-monitored referendum on the contentious issue.
"Just because the BJP has got the majority doesn't mean that they can do whatever they want. If the BJP has guts, it should go for a United Nations-monitored referendum on the issue of Citizenship Amendment Act and the NRC. Let there be an impartial organisation like the UN or the Human Rights Commission conduct it," she told a rally at Rani Rashmoni Avenue here.
"If the BJP looses this mass vote, then it should step down from the government," Banerjee said.
MAHARASHTRA
Shiv Sena stays away from protests
The Shiv Sena, an ally of the Congress and NCP in Maharashtra government, is not part of a front formed by various organisations to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens.
When Mumbai Congress president Eknath Gaikwad was asked why the Shiv Sena was not part of the front, called 'Hum Bharat Ke Log', he said the protest was organised by NGOs and not his party.
"The Congress, NCP and other parties were invited by citizens' groups for the protest. If the Congress had organised it, we would have invited all partners of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (comprising the Sena, Congress and NCP)," Gaikwad said.
While Shiv Sena stayed away from the protest, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray hit out at the Centre, asking how and where the government intended to settle Hindu immigrants in the country after the amended act gives them citizenship.
JAMMU & KASHMIR
•CPI(M) stages protest in J&K
Dozens of CPI(M) activists on Thursday staged a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) here, shouting slogans for immediate revocation of the "discriminatory and undemocratic law".
Senior CPI(M) leader and four-time legislator from south Kashmir's Kulgam, M Y Tarigami, who was supposed to join the protest, was prevented by police and virtually put under house arrest at his residence in Jammu, Regional Secretary of CPI(M) Sham Parsad Kesar said.
ASSAM
•HC orders restoration of mobile internet
The Gauhati High Court directed the Assam government to restore mobile internet services at 5 pm on Thursday.
A division bench of Justices Manojit Bhuyan and Saumitra Saikia gave the direction after hearing four PILs filed by journalist Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, and advocates Bonoshri Gogoi, Randeep Sharma and Debakanta Doley.
Mobile and broadband internet services were suspended on the evening of December 11, following incidents of violence during protests against the amended Citizenship Act.
Broadband services have already resumed in Assam.
•BJP MLAs meet CM
A group of BJP legislators called on Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday and urged him to intervene immediately to allay fear and doubts among people regarding the amended Citizenship Act.
Around 14 BJP MLAs pointed out to Sonowal that they are facing the ire of the people due to the citizenship law, BJP's Sootea MLA Padma Hazarika told reporters after the meeting at the chief minister's residence.
He said there is "mistrust in the BJP and their leaders" due to the law and it must be cleared at the earliest.
•Mass Satyagraha
Opposition Congress observed 'Mass Satyagraha' across the state with their former ministers, MPs, MLAs, senior leaders and other members sitting at different places.
The Left Democratic Mancha (LDM), comprising CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), RCPI, Janata Dal (S), NCP, LDP, AAP and Asom Sangrami Mancha, also organised sit-in demonstration in Guwahati and other places of the state.
All Assam Students' Union (AASU) strongly criticising the Vice Chancellors' appeal to students not to join the stir.
MEGHALAYA
•Resolution seeking ILP in Meghalaya to be tabled in Assembly
A resolution seeking implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya will be tabled in the state Assembly during its special session on Thursday, officials said.
Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed in and around the Assembly premises in Rilbong area of the hill town to prevent any untoward incident during the session, East Khasi Hills District Magistrate M W Nongbri said.
The curfew imposed in Sadar and Lumdiengjri police station limits in the town has been relaxed for 14 hours from 6 am on Thursday, she said. Mobile internet and mass messaging services will remain suspended till the state Home department reviews the situation, Nongbri said.
RAJASTHAN
•Repeal the act: Ashok Gehlot
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the central government should repeal the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as it has "shaken the entire country".
"I believe that no one should be proud and the government should decide to repeal it. CAA has shaken the entire country. Students in various colleges and universities have come in protest, people are taking to the streets," he told reporters.
TAMIL NADU
A 47-year old woman was detained on Thursday for allegedly threatening that she will function as a human bomb when the chief minister and deputy chief minister visit the city, police said.
The woman was identified as Shakuntala, who was a senior functionary in the AIADMK for seven years from 1990.
She was detained and further interrogation is on, police said.
•Rajinikanth expresses concern
Superstar Rajinikanth on Thursday expressed concern over violence in various parts of the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, saying violence and rioting cannot be a way to find solution to any issue.
"Violence and rioting should not become a way to find solution for any issue. I request the people of India to stay united and vigilant keeping in mind the nation's security and welfare, " he said in a tweet.
KERALA
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan strongly condemned the police action on people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
“It is the union government's fallacy that democratic protests can be thwarted by detaining people and political leaders. The National Democratic Alliance government has been using brute force - that was not used even during the emergency - to quell protests. The government has denied permission to Left parties and students of Jamia Milia Islamia to hold protests. The government has been detaining protesters everywhere. The internet and mobile phone services have been disrupted in the national capital,” he wrote.
•DYFI protests in front of Raj Bhavan
Hundreds of activists of Democratic Youth Federation of India took out a protest march to Raj Bhavan here, the official residence of the Governor, after senior Left leaders were detained during an anti-Citizenship Act protest in Delhi.
Raising slogans against the Centre, some of the protesters tried to jump the barricade, placed in front of the Raj Bhavan, and entered the high security area.
Police had to use water canon many times to disperse them but the activists squatted on the road and continued the protest.
GOVT SHOWS NO SIGN OF BACKING
•Home Ministry calls for meeting, to review security situation
The Home Ministry will review the security situation in the country on Thursday evening amid violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, NSA Ajit Doval, MoS for Home G Kishan Reddy and Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla are expected to attend the meeting. The prevailing situation of the country will be reviewed by the Home Ministry.
•We brought CAA, will also bring NRC: BJP working president
The rise in protests have done nothing to ease the government's stand in the matter. While Amit Shah categorically stated that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was here to stay, his party leaders asserted the opinion across India.
Amid protests against the amended citizenship law, a defiant J P Nadda, the working president of BJP, on Thursday said that after bringing in the Citizenship Amendment Act, the BJP-led NDA government will now bring a nation-wide National Register of Citizens.
Nadda made these remarks here after meeting Sikh refugees from Afghanistan, who came to "thank" Nadda for bringing the CAA, Nadda asserted, "We have not only brought Citizenship Amendment Act, we will also bring (nationwide) NRC."
He said BJP's rivals are protesting for vote bank politics while ignoring the plight of minorities of three neighbouring countries living in India.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa stated on Wednesday that he would implement the act 100 per cent in his state. The statement comes amidst declaration by West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh state goverments that they will not implement the act.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant urged the people of the state "not to fall prey" to the "misleading campaigns".
"The central government has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act. I would like to assure all of you that no Hindu, Muslim or Christian in Goa should be worried about it. Do not fall prey to the misleading campaigns against the Act," he said.
The spiritual head of Ajmer Dargah Zainul Abedin Ali Khan said on Thursday that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not against Muslims of the country and they need not fear as it does not pose any danger to their citizenship.
He said the government should constitute a high-power committee considering the sentiments of muslim community and submit a factual report after hearing their grievances so that the fear and myths shrouding to the new law are cleared.
(With inputs from agecies.)
