The citizenship law has sparked days of protests, clashes and riots across India that have left six people dead and dozens injured (Dibyangshu SARKAR)
<p>New Delhi (AFP) – Police fired tear gas at protesters in India’s capital Tuesday as tens of thousands rallied around the country against a new citizenship law they say is anti-Muslim, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi remained defiant.</p><p>The law grants citizenship to non-Muslims from three neighbouring countries in what opponents say is part of Modi’s Hindu-nationalist masterplan.</p><p>Uproar over the move has sparked days of protests, clashes and riots across India that have left six people dead and dozens injured in a major challenge to Modi since he swept to power in 2014.</p><p>In Muslim-populated areas of Delhi on Wednesday, buses and a police outpost were torched and tear gas filled streets as thousands of protesters hurled stones at police in Seelampur district in the latest violence to hit the capital.</p><p>Tens of thousands more rallied in West Bengal, Kolkata and Tamil Nadu states on a sixth day of nationwide protests.</p><p>But the prime minister was adamant that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), passed last week, would not affect Indian nationals, including Muslims.</p><p>He blamed the opposition Congress party for "spreading violence and creating an environment of fear" by lying about the law’s intent.</p><p>"It’s as clear as being engraved in stone that the CAA will not affect any citizen — Muslim, Hindu, Christian or anyone else," Modi told a political rally in eastern Jharkhand state.</p><p></p><p>- ‘People won’t accept the law’ -</p><p></p><p>In the eastern city of Kolkata, more than 20,000 protesters joined a fresh march led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a fierce critic of Modi.</p><p>Banerjee, who also led protests on Monday, told the crowd the law would not be implemented "for as long as I am alive".</p><p>Filmmaker Gautam Ghosh, also at the march, told AFP the law would "divide the country".</p><p>"If the federal government tries to implement the law, there will be more bloodshed. People will not accept it," he added.</p><p>Train services were disrupted after railway tracks were blocked by protesters, while nearly 700 people have been arrested, Banerjee said.</p><p>Authorities have imposed internet blackouts and used force to shut down rallies and sit-ins across several states.</p><p>In the northeastern state of Assam, the epicentre of the protests where four people died after being shot by police, a curfew imposed in some regions was lifted early Tuesday.</p><p></p><p>- Calls for police restraint -</p><p></p><p>The new round of rallies came as the Supreme Court on Tuesday referred petitions calling for a probe into allegations of police brutality to the states’ High Courts.</p><p>Rioters had torched vehicles while police with batons fired tear gas and charged protesting students before storming Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia university late Sunday.</p><p>The university’s vice-chancellor said Monday 200 people were injured but police put the number at 39 students hurt with 30 officers also injured, one of them critically.</p><p>Ten people had been arrested for rioting and mob violence but none of them was a student, police told the Hindustan Times on Tuesday.</p><p>Human Rights Watch called for police to show restraint, amid claims authorities were using unnecessary or excessive force to quell the unrest in several cities.</p><p>Amnesty International also called for police to be investigated over allegations student protesters from Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh state were beaten up by officers.</p><p>"Students have the right to protest. Violence against peacefully protesting students cannot under any circumstance be justified," Amnesty India’s executive director Avinash Kumar said in a statement.</p><p>Modi has said Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are not covered by the citizenship law because they have no need of India’s protection.</p><p></p>

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.