Anti-CAA Protests LIVE updates: PM Modi warns against 'rumour-mongering & falsehoods'

• Day after violent anti-CAA protests in southeast Delhi, traffic movement from Sarita Vihar to Kalindi Kunj in city closed on Monday morning as a precautionary measure. 
• Entry, exit gates at all metro stations opened. Normal services have resumed at all stations

The university had turned into a battlefield on Sunday as police entered the campus and also used force, following protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which led to violence and arson. According to PTI sources, the situation continues to be tense with many women students preferring to leave the campus for their homes. Many students feel they are not safe even inside the campus. The varsity had declared winter vacation from Saturday till January 5 and even postponed the exams.

A student of Jamia Millia Islamia University removes his shirt and sits at the gate of the university demanding action against Delhi police following Sunday's violent incident.

Complaint filed against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan over accusations of fanning protests in Delhi. The allegation has been sternly denied by the AAP leader.

As the Jamia Millia Islamia University turned into a battlefield on Sunday night, Congress senior leader Salman Khurshid urged for restraint by the Delhi Police. Asking the Police to 'hold itself back', the Congress leader condemned the violence that was unleashed in the national capital. Moreover, he asked the Delhi Police to engage in dialogue with the protesters. 

READ| Salman Khurshid questions Delhi Police over CAA protests says, 'They have to hold back'

• Delhi HC declines the urgent listing of plea against police action on students of Jamia Millia Islamia University.
• Lawyers ask SC to take cognizance of incidents of attack on students protesting against the amended Citizenship Act.
• CJI calls to stop rioting immediately over violent anti-CAA protests in Delhi.
• SC agrees to hear on Tuesday batch of pleas alleging violence against the peaceful protest of students opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act. 

The Apex Court taking a strong note of the damage of public property and rioting during students' stir.  Chief Justice of India SA Bobde over the matter said, 'We will determine the rights but not in the atmosphere of riots, let all of this stop and then we will take suo motu cognizance. We are not against rights and peaceful demonstrations.'

CJI Bobde added, "We don’t want to see videos (when an advocate tells the court that videos are there). If the violence and destruction of public property continue, we will not hear it."

Kamal Hassan's party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), opposes CAA in Apex Court. 

Rahul Gandhi calls the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and NRC 'weapons of mass polarisation' that have been unleashed by fascists. The Congress leader furthermore asserted his solidarity with the students protesting in Delhi.

Addressing a press brief over the violent protests held at the Jamia Millia University in the national capital, Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar called for a 'high-level inquiry,' against the Police force. 

The Vice-Chancellor said, "Police entered our campus without permission, students were studying and working. We cannot tolerate police presence on campus, they scared our students with their brutality. There has been huge damage to university property, says Jamia Milia Islamia vice-chancellor.  Jamia Millia Islamia will present facts to HRD minister. We have a list of 200 students injured during Sunday's violence."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called for a meeting at the official residence over the wide-spread violence in the national capital. Since Delhi is a Union Territory, Delhi Police comes directly under the ambit of the Home Ministry. 

Meanwhile, ANI sources confirmed that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not sought any report from the Delhi Police over the violence that ensued in Jamia Nagar area after protests broke out against the new citizenship law. According to ANI sources, the Home Ministry is in constant touch with the Delhi Police.

Twenty-one people have been arrested in connection with the students-police clash at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during the protest against the amended citizenship law.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee leads protest march in Kolkata to oppose the amended Citizenship Act passed by the Parliament last week. 

The Opposition delegation of leaders including--Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal, CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury and D Raja among the few held a joint press brief to condemn the violence unleashed in the national capital.

Azad demanding a judicial probe into Delhi Police action in Jamia said, "Entire country opposed to an unconstitutional law." "Prime Minister says Congress is behind it (protests). Had Congress been capable of inciting such violence, you wouldn't have been in power. It's a baseless allegation. I condemn it. Only the ruling party, Prime Minister, Home Minister  and their cabinet are responsible for it," the Congress leader added. 

CPI(M) leader D Raja said that the Left parties have called for a nation-wide protest on December 19. He said, "We hope that the protest will be a massive one. We appeal to all secular, democratic forces to join in the protest." "Delhi Police under Centre, what is HM Amit Shah's response on the use of force on Jamia students," he added. 

"Citizenship bill cannot be linked to religion, it is not Hindu-Muslim issue," CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury said. 

PM Modi termed violent protests over CAA "unfortunate and deeply distressing." Addressing the issue, he said, "I want to unequivocally assure my fellow Indians that CAA does not affect any citizen of India of any religion. No Indian has anything to worry regarding this Act."  

The Prime Minister said, "Violent protests on the Citizenship Amendment Act are unfortunate and deeply distressing. Debate, discussion, and dissent are essential parts of democracy but, never have damage to public property and disturbance of normal life been a part of our ethos."

"The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 was passed by both Houses of Parliament with overwhelming support. A large number of political parties and MPs supported its passage. This Act illustrates India’s centuries-old culture of acceptance, harmony, compassion, and brotherhood," he added. 

He further called to 'maintain peace, unity, and brotherhood' and refrain from 'rumor-mongering and falsehoods.'

"I want to unequivocally assure my fellow Indians that CAA does not affect any citizen of India of any religion. No Indian has anything to worry regarding this Act. This Act is only for those who have faced years of persecution outside and have no other place to go except India. The need of the hour is for all of us to work together for the development of India and the empowerment of every Indian, especially the poor, downtrodden and marginalised. We cannot allow vested interest groups to divide us and create a disturbance."

Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav demands for an "emergency session" of the Parliament to further amend the Citizenship Act to see that "no discrimination is done on the basis of religion or the Act should be revoked."

• Entry and exit gates of Jamia Millia Islamia metro station closed; trains will not be halting there: DMRC
• Entry and exit gates of Lok Kalyan Marg, Janpath Metro stations closed: DMRC

Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi appeals to Muslims not to fall prey to a disinformation campaign being carried out about their future in relation to recently enacted Citizenship Amendment Act

Protestors torched four public buses and two 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. The clash erupted during a protest by students of Jamia Millia Islamia. However, a students' body later said they had nothing to do with the violence and arson and alleged that "certain elements" had joined in and "disrupted" the demonstration.

Soon after the violence, Jamia Millia Islamia Chief Proctor Waseem Ahmed Khan claimed that the Delhi Police entered the campus forcibly without any permission and beat up staff members and students who were forced to leave the campus. Condemning the police action, university vice chancellor Najma Akhtar said students who were inside the library have been taken out and are safe.

Police said they entered the university campus only to control the situation after protesters indulged in the violence. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said four buses and two police vehicles were torched during the protest, and six policemen were also injured. He said stones were pelted from inside the university campus at police personnel, forcing them to use teargas to disperse the "violent mob". Biswal said some people have been detained but did not give details.

READ| AAP's Sisodia says 'BJP used police to blaze buses' over Delhi protests; shares pictures

Escorted by police, some youths could be seen coming out of their hostels with their hands raised. Some of them claimed the police also entered the library and "harassed" the students An eyewitness claimed that protestors took out petrol from a motorcycle and used it to torch the buses. However, protesters claimed the police baton-charged them and used teargas shells when they were holding peaceful protest. 

A Delhi Fire Services official said four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. One of them was completely damaged and two personnel were injured, he said. Plumes of smoke billowed from the torched buses as firemen tried to douse the blaze. 

The protest was being held against the contentious law which seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslims religious minorities from three neighbouring countries who arrived in India to escape religious persecution.

According to Saimon Farooqui, the national secretary of Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India, the protesters were peacefully sitting on Mathura Road when policemen tried to "trouble" a couple of protesters, who resisted.  Thereafter, the police lathicharged the protesters and used teargas, he alleged. The clash disrupted traffic in the area with several vehicles stranded on roads for hours. 

Jamia students have been protesting against the legislation. However, on Saturday evening, they had called off their university lockdown and declared they would hold a peaceful protest. After the violence this afternoon, a Jamia students' body issued a statement, saying, "We have time and again maintained that our protests are peaceful and nonviolent. We stand by this approach and condemn any party involved in the violence. 

READ| After CAA protest rocked Delhi, cops detain protesters outside Jamia university's gate

"We have maintained calm even when students have been lathi-charged and some women protestors badly were beaten up. Media personnel is a witness to these events. Violence by certain elements is an attempt to vilify and discredit genuine protests," the statement said.

Sources said the police entered the campus while chasing some "outsiders" who had indulged in vandalism and were trying to hide on the premises But the university chief proctor said, "Police entered the campus by force, no permission was taken. Staff members and students were beaten up and forced to leave the campus."

The vice chancellor said university students were not involved in the violent protest. "In the evening, when the agitation started, my students had not given a call for it," she told PTI.  "...which university can have such a huge crowd. At least not my university. It was a Sunday and we had already declared winter vacation on Saturday so half of the students had already gone home," she said. 

As tension prevailed in the area, the city government announced closure of all schools in southeast Delhi.  Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said any kind of violence is unacceptable and protests should remain peaceful. "No one shud indulge in violence. Any kind of violence is unacceptable. Protests shud remain peaceful," he tweeted. 

Several states in the northeast and West Bengal have been rocked by violent protests over the Act.

(With PTI inputs)

The BJP blamed the Aam Aadmi Party for the violence and demanded it stop "provoking people", but the AAP rejected the charge. BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari, in a tweet, said that an AAP MLA was "provoking" the public and called Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal a "traitor".

"An AAP MLA is provoking people at the behest of Arvind Kejriwal. The Muslims of the country are with India and are not going to be influenced by traitors like you. Stop provoking people. The people of Delhi will teach AAP traitors a lesson. The sin of AAP is being exposed," he tweeted in Hindi.

However, Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan, who is apparently the MLA alluded to by Tiwari, denied the accusations.  "Some TV channels have run the news that protesters under my leadership have torched buses, which is wrong. I protested near Shaheen Bagh where nothing untoward happened," he told reporters. 

BJP leader Kapil Mishra likened the violence to the 2002 Godhra train burning incident and accused the AAP government engineering the Sunday violence. He also said the violence was not less than a terror attack.  "This is a terrorist attack. Setting afire a bus which has a CNG cylinder means that there was a conspiracy for a big blast. What do you call this if not a terrorist attack? This fire was started by Amanatullah Khan. They are readying to repeat Godhra incident in Delhi," he said. 

The Delhi Traffic Police said in a tweet that the vehicular movement was closed from Okhla Underpass to Sarita Vihar due to the agitation. Vehicles coming from Badarpur and Ashram Chowk were diverted to alternative routes due to the blockade.  The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation closed entry and exit gates of several stations including the nearby Sukhdev Vihar due to the violent protest. 

35 students brought to Delhi's Holy Family Hospital with injuries, 11 admitted: PTI Sources
 

Gates of GTB Nagar, Shivaji Stadium, Patel Chowk, Vishwavidyalaya, Vasant Vihar, Munirka, R K Puram Metro stations closed. Entry, exit gates of over 15 Delhi Metro stations closed following anti-Citizenship Act protests.

Hundreds of AMU students protesting against the Citizenship Act clash with police at campus gate; police use batons and tear-gas to disperse them. 

Students at Police HQ raise slogans against PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Delhi Police amid protests. 
 

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. 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.  

As many as 50 students, who were detained during protests at the Jamia Millia University here on Sunday, were released in the early hours of Monday, police said. Of the 50 students, 35 were released from the Kalkaji police station and 15 from the New Friends Colony police station, a senior police officer said.