Rahul Gandhi says NRC & CAB are 'weapons of mass polarisation'; calls for "Satyagraha"

Rahul Gandhi has called for a "non-violent Satyagraha" over the nation-wide protests that have emerged to reject the amended Citizenship Act passed by the Parliament. The senior Congress leader on Monday termed the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens as "weapons of mass polarisation" unleashed by fascists on India. Rahul Gandhi said he stands in solidarity with those protesting peacefully against them.

"The CAB and NRC are weapons of mass polarisation unleashed by fascists on India. The best defence against these dirty weapons is peaceful, non-violent Satyagraha. I stand in solidarity with all those protesting peacefully against the CAB and NRC," Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter.

The national capital witnessed violent clashes on Sunday between the Jamia Millia University students and Delhi Police over the contentious Citizenship Act. Amid the protests, many students were injured, and buses were set ablaze.  Reports of protests erupted from across the nation including--Moulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh. Internet services have been snapped in six districts of Uttar Pradesh including --Aligarh, Meerut, Saharanpur, and Varanasi.  Over concerns of marginalisation of minorities, protests were seen across the length and breadths of the country--from Delhi to Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, and even Mumbai. 

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SC to hear plea

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Tuesday pleas which have alleged police atrocities on students holding protests against the amended Citizenship Act at the Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Millia Islamia University here.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde on Monday also took serious note of the rioting and destruction of public property during protests against the Act and said this must stop immediately. A group of lawyers led by senior advocate Indira Jaising and Collin Gonsalves mentioned the matter before the court urging it to take suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the alleged violence unleashed against students who are holding protest against the Act.

"The only thing we want is that the violence must stop," the bench said, adding, "if protests and violence and damage of public property will be there, we will not hear the matter". The bench also comprising justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant asked the lawyers to file their petitions and said it would hear them tomorrow.

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