Maharashtra: Anti-CAA protests take place near Hari Masjid under police surveillance

A crowd of thousands of people gathered outside the Hari Masjid area on Friday to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. People marched at the protest after attending the 'Friday prayers' at the mosque.

All permissions and orders were given by the local police station to carry out the protests on conditions of ''no hate speech and maintenance of law and order". A heavy police force was deployed and security arrangements were made to maintain discipline during the protest. 

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also on Thursday spoke to leaders and representatives of the Muslim community through video conferencing and appealed to them to maintain law and order during protests against CAA and NRC. Leaders of several opposition parties had met President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday requesting him to advise the central government to withdraw the law. 

The CAA grants citizenship to non-Muslims of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who fled due to religious persecution and arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.

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Protests erupt in Maharashtra

Assamese community members staged a protest on Wednesday in Pune against the Citizenship Act, claiming it endangers the culture of Assam and ignores sentiments of people of the north-eastern State. Several people also participated in a protest march against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Act in Mumbra, a predominantly Muslim township near Mumbai.

A protest march was also undertaken in the Carter Road area of Bandra in Mumbai. In Pune, over 200 members of the Assamese community, mostly students and working professionals from the northeastern state, gathered outside the Sambhaji Garden and staged a protest against the Act.

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In Mumbra near Mumbai, the protesters carried banners and placards condemning the NRC and the Citizenship Act and shouted anti-government slogans. Most shops in the area downed their shutters and auto-rickshaws remained off the roads. The protest march started from Shimla Park and ended near the railway station. At a rally held later, speakers claimed the Act and NRC were designed to divide Hindus and Muslims.

(With inputs from ANI)