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Protest against citizenship law spreads to Bengal, stones pelted at trains near Kolkata
BJP’s Murshidabad (south) organisational district president, Humayun Kabir, who was earlier a minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, announced that he was going to quit the party in protest against CAA.
The violent protest against the newly-enacted citizenship law has now spread to West Bengal. In capital Kolkata, snap demonstration took place at several places, bringing traffic to a standstill. Symbolic copies of the citizenship act were burnt at Park Circus.
People pelted stones at trains at Uluberia in Howrah, injuring a train driver and some passengers. Several trains on the Howrah-Kharagpur route, like the Coromandel Express and Jaswantpur-Howrah Express, got stranded with passengers on board. Demonstrations also stopped local trains at Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas.
There were violent protests in Murshidabad too, which has the highest concentration of Muslims in the state. Police said traffic was stopped and burning car tyres placed on the streets of Berhampore town and other places. The protesters even tried to set the Beldanga railway station on fire, officials said.
BJP’s Murshidabad (south) organisational district president, Humayun Kabir, who was earlier a minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, announced that he was going to quit the party in protest against CAA.
“There is widespread panic among Muslims ever since the Parliament passed the bill. In this situation, it is not possible for me to continue with the BJP. Thousands of people who support me have advised me to quit. Or else, they will leave me,” he said.
“BJP national general secretaries Kailash Vijayvargiya and Arvind Menon are aware of Kabir’s decision. They asked him to take local Muslims into confidence on the CAA issue. But local people are not ready to listen,” said a close aide of Kabir, who did not with to be identified.
The situation did not come under control till 4.30pm.
The protests have been raging in the Northeast for the past three days over the citizenship act amendment through which the government seeks to fast-track the process of giving citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from three naighbouring countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Though no major incident was reported on Friday from Assam, the epicentre of Northeat protest, people participated in peaceful marches in several parts of the state saying their fight against CAA will continue.
The All Assam Students Union (AASU), which has been spearheading the protests in Assam, announced on Friday that it has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against the citizenship law in the Supreme Court. Two more NGOs, Asom Sahitya Sabha and Guwahati-based Assam Public Works, said they would challenge the amendment in the citizenship law in the top court.
It was on the petition of the Assam Public Works that the Supreme Court had introduced the National Register for Citizens in Assam, which had excluded 1.9 million residents in the final draft published on August 31, 2019.
“Assamese people will never accept amended citizenship law. We will continue or street protests along with legal measures to ensure CAB is withdrawn,” said AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday warned of strong action against people involved in arson and violence and said he was committed to protect the rights of the indigenous people of the state.
His comments came after two days of continuous violence by a section of protesters, in which two persons were killed and 26 others were injured. Frenzied mobs blocked roads in different parts of Assam with burning discarded tyres and menaced commuters by bludgeoning their vehicles with sticks and stones. Two railway stations were torched while houses of several legislators, including the private residence of Sonowal, were attacked by mobs.
(Utpal Parashar contributed from Assam)
