Anti-Citizenship Act stir: Protests rage in Bengal, curfew eased in Assam

Kolkata/Guwahati, December 16

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Tempers ran high in West Bengal for the fourth day on Monday over the new citizenship law, with many highways and railway lines blocked by protesters amid reports of arson, loot and attacks on policemen.

Assam, the gateway to the northeast, where the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which has now been signed into law by the President, first ignited public fury, is calm with curfew relaxed and people going about their lives normally.

However, peaceful protests are continuing in Guwahati and other places.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, one of the most strident voices against the new Citizenship Act and the proposed NRC, is all set to take to streets in Kolkata in the afternoon, ignoring Governor Jagdeep Dhankar’s remark that it would be “unconstitutional and inflammatory”.

“I am extremely anguished that CM and Ministers are to spearhead rally against CAA, law of the land. This is unconstitutional. I call upon CM to desist from this unconstitutional and inflammatory act at this juncture and devote to retrieve the grim situation,” Dhankar tweeted.

The governor had earlier questioned Banerjee’s opposition to the amended Act saying “any person holding a constitutional post cannot oppose the law of the land”.

The Chief Minister will crisscross the entire city over the next three days demanding immediate revocation of the new citizenship law, sources in the TMC said.

“A mega rally will be held today in #Kolkata to protest against unconstitutional #CABBill & #NRC. It will begin at 1pm near the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar on Red Road & end at Jorasanko Thakurbari.

“Come, let us all, every section of society, join this people’s movement in a peaceful manner within the ambit of law,” she wrote.

Internet services continued to remain suspended in six districts of the state–Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and parts of South 24 Parganas districts–where violent protests over the amended Act have brought life to a screeching halt.

Agitators have blocked thoroughfares, set fire to tyres, staged sit-ins on highways in several districts of the state, including Murshidabad and East Midnapore, inconveniencing thousands of commuters.

Several trains have been cancelled or delayed due to the ongoing protests.

A spokesperson for the railways said demonstrators had blocked the tracks on Sealdah-Diamond Harbour and Sealdah- Namkhana sections.

Efforts were being made to disperse the mob, he added.

On Sunday night, the officer in-charge of Uluberia police station, along with a few other police personnel, sustained injuries after they were attacked by agitators.

The injured were admitted to a nearby hospital, district officials said.

Incidents of violence, loot and arson were also reported from Nadia and Birbhum districts.

The law and order situation, however, improved in Assam, with the administration relaxing curfew from 6 am to 9 pm in Guwahati, the epicentre of the anti-Citizenship Act protests.

Night curfew in Guwahati, however, would continue to be in force, a senior police officer said.

“The situation having improved considerably, the day curfew is being withdrawn from Guwahati from 6 am of December 16. Night curfew would remain from 9 pm till 6 am the next day,” Assam’s Additional DGP (Law and Order) GP Singh tweeted.

In Dibrugarh district, where curfew has been eased between 6 am and 8 pm, the administration has warned people against holding protest meets without permission beyond 3 pm.

The measure was being taken to “prevent anti-social elements from mingling with the common people after dark,” a senior district official said.

Student organisation Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) has launched an indefinite hunger strike in the state to protest against the law. PTI