Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has once again warned those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of severe consequences, and this time, it is for raising slogans of “azadi” during agitations.
He has warned of slapping sedition cases against such protesters.
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Speaking in Kanpur at a function as part of the BJP’s outreach to the people on the contentious law, Yogi Adityanath was quoted by news agency ANI as saying: “If anyone raises slogans of Azadi in the name of protest, it will amount to sedition and the government will take strict action. It can’t be accepted. People can’t be allowed to conspire against India from Indian soil”.
This comes amid massive protests against CAA in Lucknow, specifically led by women protesters.
Lucknow has been the epicentre of anti-CAA protests in Uttar Pradesh.
Hundreds of women continue to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Lucknow’s iconic Clock Tower.
The ongoing protest against CAA in Lucknow, on the lines of New Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh protest, has gathered momentum and despite efforts by the police, the women have refused to budge from the site.
About 50 women began the sit-in demonstration on Friday but the crowds swelled on Saturday and the protest became ‘indefinite’. Women, children and senior citizens joined the protest and several organisations also came out in their support.
The police have identified and named around a dozen people, including the daughters of famous Urdu poet Munawwar Rana, and registered three criminal cases against the protesters.
The protesters, mostly women, have been booked for “rioting, unlawful assembly, disobedience to order and obstruction in public way”.
In visuals captured on mobile phones, policemen were seen taking away blankets and boxes of what appeared to be food packets from the protest site on Saturday night amidst chaos.
The cops, some of them wearing helmets, were also seen taking away Styrofoam sheets meant to be spread on the ground for those who were to spend the night there.
In another video clip, Uttar Pradesh cops were caught on camera chasing and raining blows with their batons on women protesting in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah against the Citizenship Act on Tuesday.
Several video clips shot on mobile phones have gone viral on social media as they showed policemen chasing women, caning them and also barging into shops to force their closure.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that the Chief Minister has warned those protesting against CAA.
Following the violence that broke out in many parts of the state between December 19 and 21 claiming as many as 21 lives, Yogi Adityanath had said that his government will take revenge against those involved in the violence and will auction their properties to compensate for the losses.
More than 1,100 people were reportedly arrested and 5,558 kept in preventive detention following the violence related to anti-CAA protests.
