Prohibitory orders have been imposed in various areas as massive protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act have been planned across the country today.
Thousands of people, including students from universities across the country are taking to the streets against the new citizenship law. However, Section 144 has been imposed to curb large gatherings especially in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and parts of Karanataka, including the state capital, Bengaluru.
Protests against CAA that were earlier confined to the northeast, have swept the country over the past week after several protesters, including students clashed with the police in Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia on December 15.
The amended law seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and have arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.
The nationwide protests also come a day after the Supreme Court refused to stop the implementation of the amended law and issued a notice to the Centre while hearing nearly 60 petitions challenging the recent amendments to the Citizenship Act. The top court also asked the central government to respond to the pleas by the second week of January.