Citizenship Amendment Act protests Updates: NPR first step for NRC, says Derek O'Brien; TMC leader accuses Centre of trying to fool people

Muslim group to give representation to Telangana CM on CAA, NRC, NPR

ANI has reported that a delegation of United Muslim Action Committee will meet the Telangana chief minister tomorrow. They will give a representation to him on CAA, NRC and NPR. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi will also be a part of the delegation.

As Centre okays NPR fund, Akhilesh says BJP govt's "hidden motives" to have NRC exposed

Bandh observed in Dibrugarh, protesters demand Akhil Gogoi's release

Will review CAA- NRC, says Hemant Soren 

TMC counter govt's claims, cites 2015 reply by MoS home in Lok Sabha 

Claiming that Narendra Modi led govt had sought to link the NPR exercise with the NRC not only in Rajya Sabha, but also in the Lok Sabha, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien on Tuesday shared a reply give by MoS State in the lower House in 2015. The reply states that the information collected through the NPR wil serve as the "mother database" for the NRIC by verifying the citizenship status of each and every resident. 

The Rajya Sabha MP said the said BJP is cheating the people as NPR will be carried out alongside the census. This will confuse the innocent people who will think it is the census and not the first step of the NRC.

Prashant Bhushan denounces NDA govt's "lies"

Reacting to the Cabinet's approval to the process of updating the National Population Register, activist Prashant Bhushan said, "The NPR is explicitly the basis of the National Register of Indian Citizens under the Citizenship Rules of 2003. Just 2 days ago Modi shouted that there is no move for a National Register of Citizens & today his Cabinet clears the NPR which is the basis for NRC! Liars & Frauds!"

Security personnel had not broken AMU gate, says UP Police

The Uttar Pradesh Police has tweeted a video seeking to present its side of the events that took place during the protests at Aligarh Muslim University.

Congress cites Home Ministry report to counter Amit Shah's claims

Responding to the claims made by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar and Home Minister Amit Shah about there being no links between the NPR and the NRC, the Congress cited the 2018-19 annual report of the home ministry which stated that the NPR is the first step of the NRC. The party also said that the same reply was given by former MoS for home Kiren Rijiju in the Rajya Sabha. 

"Once again the BJP govt is caught in a trap of their own making, " it tweeted.  

No detention centre built since Modi govt came to power: Amit Shah

"Detention centres are only for illegal immigrants. Neither the CAA nor the NPR will affect citizens of the country," claimed Shah. He stated "There is only one detention centre in Assam, which was built years ago. No detention centre has been built since the Modi government came to power."

Police fulfilling their duty, says Amit Shah about crackdown on CAA protests

Asked about police violence during the protests against the CAA, Shah said "If police do not protect lives, then they are not fulfilling their duty. they might have even entered ICU, but they must have been chasing miscreants."

Some parties creating opposition to NPR: Amit Shah

"Some parties opposing NPR to deny benefits to minorities. Minorities benefited  only due to the schemes brought by Prime minister Narendra Modi," Shah told ANI.

No link between NPR and NRC, says Amit Shah

"There is no link between National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR)," said Home minister  Amit Shah in an exclusive interview with ANI.

'NPR=NRC': CPM slams govt, calls for repeal of CAA, NPR

Twitter users question govt's claim of NPR not being related to NRC

Twitter users, including journalists and academicians, reacted to the government's claims that the National Population Register was not related to National Register of Citizens. 

Protesters at Jantar Mantar demand withdrawal of CAA, NPR

Students and protesters from various universities and organisations gathered near Jantar Mantar under the banner of "We the People of India" to protest against the CAA and NRC.

Protesters raised slogans demanding the withdrawal of the NRC, CAA as well as the NPR, which was approved by the Union Cabinet earlier in the day.

National Population Register, not citizen register, says Prakash Javadekar

Addressing a press briefing, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said that the Union Cabinet has approved the conducting of census of India 2021 and updating of National Population Register. The exercise will be conducted between April  and September 2020 and a head count will be ready by February 2021 (2021 is the Census year)," he said. 

"Cabinet has approved an expenditure of Rs 8,754.23 crore for the exercise of the Census of India 2021 and Rs 3,941.35 crore for the updation of National Population Register," said the minister.

Seeking to allay fears, the government said, "It’s a national population register, not a citizen register."  Javadekar also stated that no documents or biometrics will be required and that it will be based on self-certification. 

He added that the NPR exercise was first started in 2010 under the UPA government and was last updated in 2015. The NPR will have to be updated every 10 years. "Lakhs of enumerators will be going from house to house for the NPR", he said adding that from this year onwards, an app will be introduced to facilitate the process. 

The NPR will will help in ensuring that the benefits of welfare schemes reach the intended beneficiaries, added Javadekar.

Rs 13,000 crore allocated for Census and NPR, says Prakash Javadekar

"The  NPR process has been started in many states and Rs 13,000 crore has been allocated for theNPR and census," Union minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said during a press briefing. 

Third-year student expelled from Arabi-Farsi University for calling anti-CAA and NRC protests

Centre will update NPR with house-listing phase of Census 2021

According to reports, in the next step, the Centre has decided to update the NPR along with the house-listing phase of Census 2021 in 2020. West Bengal and Kerala have stopped the NPR exercise, over a week after the controversial bill to amend the Citizenship Act was passed by both Houses of parliament, NDTV reports.

Data for NPR first collected in 2010

The data for NPR was first collected in 2010 during the second term of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, reports have said, along with the house-listing phase of Census 2011.

The NPR data was first updated in 2015 with door-to-door surveys; digitisation of the updated data is complete now, officials said

When will NPR be held 

The NPR exercise will be held between April and September 2020 in all states and Union Territories except Assam, where the National Register of Citizens exercise to identify illegal migrants has already been conducted.

Union Cabinet approves NPR 

BJP's Chandra Kumar Bose questions exclusion of Muslims from CAA
 

Hours after BJP working president JP Nadda took out a march in Kolkata in support of the newly-enacted Citizenship law on Monday, the party's West Bengal vice president Chandra Kumar Bose raised his voice against the Act and said India is a country "open to all religions and communities".

"If #CAA2019 is not related to any religion why are we stating – Hindu, Sikh, Buddha, Christians, Parsis and Jains only! Why not include #Muslims as well? Let's be transparent," Bose tweeted. "Don't equate India or compare it with any other nation – as it's a nation Open to all religions and communities," he said in another tweet.

"If Muslims are not being persecuted in their home country they would not come,so there's no harm in including them. However, this is not entirely true- what about Baluch who live in Pakistan & Afghanistan? What about Ahwadiyya in Pakistan?" Bose said. 

The comment by Bose, grandnephew of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, comes as BJP has launched massive public awareness campaign to raise awareness for the contentious citizenship law. 

'Police did not show us any orders, just asked us to return': Rahul

Rahul, Sonia Gandhi stopped by UP Police outside Meerut

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka, who were scheduled to meet the kin of those killed in anti-Citizenship Act protests in Meerut, were stopped by Uttar Pradesh Police, CNN-News18 reported. 

The leaders were on their way to visit the violence-hit state. The toll in violence that occurred during protests against the CAA in Meerut on Friday rose to five, a senior police official said on Sunday.

Visuals from violence at AMU during anti-CAA protests 

Following the unrest during the anti-CAA protests in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and the flak received by the Uttar Pradesh Police, the administration has released CCTV footage from the violence on 15 December. 

The state police claimed that the protests were "politically motivated" and alleged that Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders instigated the crowd.

They further claimed that the action by the cops was necessitated to tackle the unruly mob. "Some outsiders also got incolved in the guise of students," according to the police.

Shashi Tharoor backs German IIT-M student asked to leave India for joining anti-CAA protest, calls upon HRD ministry to withdraw expulsion 

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has called upon the HRD Ministry to withdraw the expulsion of a German student pursuing his Masters at IIT Madras after he was asked to leave the country following his participation in an anti-Citizenship Act protest.

"This is dismaying. We used to be a proud democracy, an example to the world. No democracy punishes freedom of expression," Tharoor said.

"I call on Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (HRD Minister) to instruct IIT Madras to withdraw the expulsion and allow India to hold head high in the academic world," he added.

Last week, when nationwide agitation against CAA was at its peak, Jakob Lindenthal, a German student in the Department of Physics at IIT-M – part of a one-year exchange programme – was asked to leave the country immediately after he attended one of the protests against CAA and NRC.

Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi to meet kin of deceased of CAA-NRC violence in Meerut

Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to visit Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday to meet kin of those killed in anti-Citizenship Act protests, reported CNN-News18. 

The toll in the violence that occurred during protests against the CAA in Meerut on Friday rose to five, a senior police official said on Sunday.

The deceased have been identified as Mohsin, Aasif, Zahir, Aalim, all residents of Meerut, and Asif from Delhi, Inspector General Alok Singh said.

During the protests on Friday, protesters had torched vehicles and pelted stones at police, who used lathicharge and lobbed tear gas shells to quell the mobs.

Tis Hazari court issues notice to Delhi Police on bail plea of six accused in Daryaganj violence

The Tis Hazari court in Delhi on Tuesday issued a notice to the Delhi Police on a bail petition filed by six of the 15 accused who were arrested after a protest in the Darya Ganj area against the citizenship law turned violent on 20 December. 

Special Additional Session Judge Satish Kumar sought response from the police and slated the matter for 28 December for further hearing. 

Sec 144 Imposed Near Delhi's Mandi House

Section 144 has been imposed, banning gatherings of more than four people, at Mandi House in New Delhi ahead of a planned protest against newly amended Citizenship Act. Police teams have been deployed.

Riots following anti-CAA protests 'planned', claims Mangaluru Police

The Mangaluru police released a video claiming the riots that broke out during the protest against Citizenship Act was "planned" and "executed". Currently the entire state of Karnataka is under Section 144 under BS Yediyurappa government.

How did CAA protests at Muzaffarnagar go out of hand? 

Students living at Sadat Hostel in Muzaffarnagar were in for a rude shock when the police barged into their hostel premises late on Friday evening. Almost all the students staying at the hostel were arrested on alleged charges of rioting during the protest from earlier that day.

After Friday prayers on 20 December, protesters from across Muzaffarnagar had assembled at Meenakshi Chowk to mark their objection to the Citizenship Amendment Act. "It was a peaceful protest and the organisers were constantly in conversation with the authorities. At a little past 4 pm, people started dispersing after a few rounds of sloganeering. No one knew where the stones came from. That is when the situation went out of hand," says Asad Farooqui, a social worker from Muzaffarnagar. A few community leaders were roped in immediately by the police to figure out a way to de-escalate tensions, but they weren't successful.

Congress leader Saiduzzaman says extremist elements vitiated atmosphere, derailed peaceful protests 

While condemning the police action following protests on 20 December in Muzaffarnagar, Saiduzzaman wrote that Hindus and Muslims all across the country are standing united against the law. He lashed out at the state administration and the police for sealing shops of those not involved in the protest.

He invoked the bloody 2013 communal riots in the city and said that ‘some extremist elements’ are vitiating the peaceful atmosphere in a similar way. Although Saiduzzaman does not name anyone explicitly in his press note, a Firstpost reporter found that those present at the rally say that the presence of BJP leader Sanjeev Baliyan led to the further escalation of the stand-off.

"He is seen as a polarising figure in Muzaffarnagar as he has from time-to-time made statements that are communal in nature. There was no reason for him to be there, when both the police and civil society members were trying to bring the situation under control," said a resident of Kalpara.

Balyan was an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riot, however, he claims that he he has been booked in a false case.

Riots following anti-CAA protests 'planned', claims Mangaluru Police

The Mangaluru police released a video claiming the riots that broke out during the protest against Citizenship Act was "planned" and "executed". Currently the entire state of Karnataka is under Section 144 under BS Yediyurappa government.

Remove apprehensions of Muslims over CAA and NRC: Mayawati's appeal to Centre

BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday appealed the Centre to remove all apprehensions, especially of Muslims over the issue of Citizenship law and National Register of Citizens (NRC). 

She said it would be better if Muslims are given satisfaction amid the tension and fear triggered in the community after the passage of Citizenshipship (Amendment) Bil, 2019. 

"It is demanded that the Central Government should remove all the apprehensions, especially of the Muslims over the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC, and if they are fully satisfied, then it will be better," Mayawati tweeted in Hindi. 

Religion-based citizenship law against social fabric of India, says Yogendra Yadav

Internet services resume in parts of Uttar Pradesh, says report

Internet services restored in parts of Uttar Pradesh, according to CNN-News18. Earlier on Monday District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash had said that the services would remain suspended till 8 pm on 25 December 

Six accused in Daryaganj violence move bail application

Six of the 15 accused in the violence witnessed in Delhi's Daryaganj on 20 December filed bail applications before the Tis Hazari Sessions Court, ANI reported. The matter will be heard today.

A Delhi court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of the 15 people and extended their judicial custody by two weeks. Violence broke out in Daryaganj on 20 December, when a group of agitating demonstrators, protesting against the amended Citizenship Act, resorted to stone pelting after police tried to forcefully evict them. One car was set on fire and several others were damaged.

Mamata Banerjee to lead another protest rally in Kolkata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to lead protest rally from Swami Vivekananda residence to Gandhi Bhawan in Kolkata on Tuesday. 

On Monday, Mamata, who is eyeing pan-India support in her fight against the Citizenship Amendment Act, wrote to chief ministers and senior leaders of Opposition parties on Monday, urging them to unite and chalk out a plan to "save the country".

Five arrested in Seelampur violence, says report 

Five 'miscreants' have been arrested over violent demonstrations in North east Delhi’s Seelampur area had happened on 17 December in view of newly amended Citizenship Act. 

Political strategist Prashant Kishor takes on Rahul Gandhi on CAA, says 'hope no NRC in Congress-ruled states'

Prashant Kishor, political strategist, takes on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Citizenship Act and National Register of Citizens on Tuesday and asked to declare no implementation of CAA or NRC in Congress ruled states. 

Mamata Banerjee writes to CMs of non-BJP ruled states and leader of Opposition, urges them to join protests against CAA

'Appalled' to see Delhi Police attacking Jamia Millia students: Dublin City University condemn repression of anti-CAA protests 

In response to the implementation of the newly amended Citizenship Act, Dublin City University Faculty and Students issued a statement condemning the repression of protests against the law in the nation. 

"Protests are happening across all the states in the Northeast of India and have spread to the university campuses in the rest of the country. There have been deaths and injuries in the Northeast and the government has imposed an internet blackout effectively cutting them off from the rest of the world. Injuries have also been reported from Jamia Millia and AMU," the statement read.

Lawyer, journalist arrested in Uttar Pardesh for inciting people against CAA

A journalist and a lawyer were arrested in Barabanki for allegedly inciting people through social media against the contentious law, police said on Monday.

Kamran Alvi, a journalist with a local news channel, and Dilkash Rizvi, the lawyer, had been sent to jail, Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said.

According to reports, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s (youth wing) has called a Darjeeling bandh on 29 December, against National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act. The bandh has been called by Binoy Tamang faction of GJM and the group has said that everything will remain shut in the Darjeeling hills on that day.

On 21 December, Rizvi tried to incite communal passion and the people against the new law through Facebook Live and Alvi too tried to incite people and trigger riots through social media.

Internet services to remain suspended in Lucknow till 25 Dec

The internet services in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh will remain suspended till 8 pm on 25 December, District Magistrate, Abhishek Prakash, said on Monday.

The services were snapped in several cities in view of violent protests against the newly amended Citizenship Act last week.