Kapil Sibal on CAA: 'Govt should address problems not create them'

Congress leader and senior Supreme Court advocate Kapil Sibal on Monday, December 16, slammed the BJP-led Central government for the ongoing protests and violence in different parts of the country. Taking to the microblogging site Sibal accused the government of creating problems for the citizens. He also mentioned that the current situation represents the destruction of values. This statement of Sibal comes as the country is experiencing huge protests overall against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

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Protests in Delhi

People protesting against the CAA clashed with the police in New Friends Colony near Jamia Millia Islamia University leaving nearly 60 people injured. Subsequently, there were reports of students being injured and detained as the police entered the Jamia campus. In the early hours of Monday, 50 students were released by the police from the Kalkaji police station and the New Friends Colony police station.  

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Massive protests

As violent protests against the Citizenship Act continue throughout West Bengal, Trinamool party workers on Sunday carried out rallies across the state protesting against the amended Citizenship Act, according to PTI. Meanwhile, sporadic incidents of violence reported from have been reported from Nadia, North 24 Parganas & Howrah districts. In retaliation to cut down misinformation being spread around the state, internet services suspended in Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, North & South 24 Parganas, as a precautionary measure by state officials. However, the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal itself took out rallies across the state on Sunday, protesting against the amended Citizenship Act.

Meanwhile, tough security measures continue at Aligarh Muslim University as a precautionary measure amid student protest against the amended Citizenship Act. Violent protests continue in Kolkata and several parts of Assam - which is the epicentre of the protests. Two more persons succumbed to gunshot wounds in Assam's Guwahati, taking the toll in police firing during violent protests against the citizenship law to four, officials said on Sunday. Previously, two persons were killed in police firing on Thursday. Assam has been witnessing violent clashes since Wednesday with a large number of protestors detained by the police in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, etc.

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What is CAA?

The CAA 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. Additionally, the mandatory residence period for naturalised citizenship for these communities would be reduced to 5 years. Several states in the North East have witnessed protests against this legislation. The opposition contends that the Act discriminates on the basis of religion, which might go against Article 14, which guarantees the right to equality.

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