Citizenship Act Protests LIVE: Speaking on National Youth Day, which is celebrated on Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused opposition parties of trying to mislead youth on the amended citizenship law for political gains and reiterated that the Act is not meant to “snatch anyone’s rights". He also slammed Pakistan on treatment of minorities since Independence.
The protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens, both criticised as anti-Muslim, have snowballed across India with students and women leading the charge. The flames of discontent have been fanned by police action on protesting students and alleged inaction when a masked mob assaulted Left-leaning students at a JNU hostel last Sunday.
Black flags and angry chants of “Modi, go back" greeted the Prime Minister as he arrived on a two-day visit to Kolkata on Saturday, but nicety was not abandoned as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared the dais with him while remaining insistent on annulment of the new citizenship law.
Banerjee, arguably the bitterest critic of the prime minister on the CAA, met him at Raj Bhavan, after deciding not to receive him at the airport, and also shared stage at a colourful programme to celebrate 150 years of the Kolkata Port Trust.
Moments later, she was present at an anti-CAA protest nearby. Banerjee, who called her meeting with Modi a “courtesy visit", said the prime minister had asked her to come to New Delhi to discuss the vexatious issues.
An hour or so later, Modi and Banerjee were seated on stage at the Millennium Park, savouring a delightful dance performance on the Hooghly river as the iconic Howrah Bridge was aglow in hues of red, purple, yellow and green light.
The politically significant meet, which had exposed chinks in the opposition unity, came just two days after the TMC chief had declared to boycott an opposition meeting called by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on January 13 over the JNU violence, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and other “anti-people" policies of the Centre.
The meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Banerjee drew sharp reactions from the Congress and CPI(M), which said Trinamool Congress’ “double standard" is now exposed.
The Trinamool Congress leadership denies claims of “political match-fixing" and said the meeting between the two leaders was just a government-to-government meet.
The brief meeting between the two had kicked off a fresh storm as Left students activists protested against her and demanded an explantion from her for diluting the fight against the CAA.
Banerjee tried to clarify by saying the decision to meet the PM was her “constitutional obligation" and tried to pacify the protesting students.
Modi arrived here amidst protests across the city against CAA. The protesters burnt effigies of the PM and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for bringing in a “divisive law". Several organisations, both political and civil, staged protests at every nook and corner of the state.
Hundreds of protesters holding black flags demonstrated outside the Kolkata airport gate number one crossing. The police had put up a barricade to prevent them from crossing over to the airport side.
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