SC to hear pleas against CAA, students protest across country

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said it will hear the pleas along with other pending matters coming up for hearing on December 18. Several petitions, including those by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019.

Several other petitioners including All Assam Students Union (AASU), Peace Party, NGOs ‘Rihai Manch’ and Citizens Against Hate, advocate M L Sharma, law students have also approached the apex court challenging the Act.  The Supreme Court also took serious note of rioting and destruction of public property during protests across the country and said that “violence must stop immediately”.

Congress leaders led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held a sit-in at the India Gate on Monday in a show of solidarity with the protesting students from Jamia Millia Islamia and several other universities across the country, and alleged that the amended citizenship law was intended to destroy the Constitution .

After a two-hour ‘silent protest’ from 4 pm to 6 pm, the Congress general secretary hit out at the Modi government over the citizenship law, saying the police crackdown on students of Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday was an attack on the soul of India. “Each and every Congress worker will fight against Modi government which is turning dictatorial,” said Priyanka Gandhi.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday termed violent protests across the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act as “unfortunate and deeply distressing”, and appealed to people to stay away from rumour-mongering and not let “vested interests” divide the society.

Anti-citizenship law protests snowballed into a major flashpoint in West Bengal with highways and railway lines blocked and incidents of arson and loot reported from many places, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared CAA and NRC can be enforced in the State only over her “dead body”. Assam was largely calm with curfew relaxed and people going about their lives almost normally. Some protesters and their leaders were detained in Guwahati and later released, while internet services were suspended for another 24 hours to prevent “misuse” of social media to disturb peace, officials said.