Ram Madhav hails CJI for 'using his moral authority' to contain anti-CAA violence

The National General Secretary of BJP, Ram Madhav took to Twitter on Tuesday morning and said he is glad that the Chief Justice of India is using his moral authority to contain violence in the country. This comes after massive nationwide protests agaist the Citizenship (Amendment) Act erupted in India. Taking to Twitter, Ram Madhav said that the new Citizenship Act strives to provide citizenship to the people who are affected by the “partition-fallout”. He also added that the Act has nothing to do with any of the communities. 

The Citizenship Amendment Act 

The Act seeks to provide citizenship to the minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This will be applicable to the members of these communities having arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. Moreover, they will not be considered as illegal migrants. 

Read: Sonia Gandhi slams BJP over CAA says 'attack on students will be Modi's end'

Additionally, the mandatory residence period for naturalised citizenship for these communities would be reduced to 5 years. Several parties in the North East such as the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) have been vehemently opposed to this Act. To ameliorate their concerns, the Centre has exempted a major part of the North East from the ambit of the CAA. The opposition contends that the Bill discriminates on the basis of religion, which might go against Article 14, which guarantees the right to equality.   

Read: Manmohan Singh appeals to 'strengthen Sonia & Rahul Gandhi's hands; give Congress power'

Anti-CAA protests by students

The protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 took a violent turn in the national capital and other parts of the country on Sunday. The students of Jamia Millia Islamia University claimed that the police baton-charged them when they were holding a peaceful protest. Protestors torched several public buses and police vehicles as they clashed with police in New Friends' Colony near Jamia University during a demonstration against the amended Citizenship Act, leaving six cops and two firemen injured, officials said.  

Read: Assam protests: Police firing death toll rises to four amid anti-CAB demonstrations

After the student and police clash, a few students were detained. The Delhi Minorities Commission issued an emergency order to the SHO Kalkaji Police Station to release the injured students of Jamia Millia Islamia University or to take them without any delay for treatment to a hospital. Some Congress leaders including Arvinder Singh Lovely, Choudhary Mateen Ahmed, and Shoaib Iqbal reached friends colony police station to meet detained Jamia students. 

Read: Anti-Citizenship Act Protests LIVE updates: AMU students clash with police at campus gate

Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, chairperson of the Commission in the order, has also asked the police to file a compliance report by 3 pm today at Commission's office failing which will attract an appropriate action. Apart from this, Hundreds of AMU students protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Police HQ raised slogans against PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Delhi Police. They clashed with police at the AMU campus gate; police use batons and tear-gas to disperse them.