Section 144 imposed in Imphal ahead of tabling of citizenship bill in RS; prohibitory orders issued after 165 organisations agitate

Imphal: Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in East and West Imphal districts ahead of the tabling of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. As per the orders of the district magistrate, “Section-144 is imposed in Imphal till 12 February 2019 until further orders due to the situation arising out of intense agitation launched by various civil society organisations against the passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 in the Lok Sabha.” [caption id=“attachment_6069591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of a protest agains tthe Citizenship (Amendement) Bill. Reuters[/caption] The bill will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on 8 January, aims at granting citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who came to India before 31 December, 2014. Earlier on February 10, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had stated that his party, National People’s Party (NPP), has decided that if the central government passes the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha, then they will break ties with the NDA. Addressing media persons in Guwahati, Sangma had said, “National People’s Party (NPP) has decided if the Bill (Citizenship Amendment Bill) is passed in the Rajya Sabha, then the party will break its ties with the NDA. This decision was taken in the party’s general body meeting.” BJP, on the other hand, has said the government wants to resolve the problem of illegal migrants. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged the people to not be carried away by the rumors. He urged the political parties to stop playing with the emotions of the people of Assam for political gain and vote bank. “Assam will not be harmed through the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill,” he said.

Manipur: Section-144 imposed in Imphal East District till 12 February 2019 until further orders due to "situation arising out of intense agitation launched by various Civil Society Organisations against the passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 in the Lok Sabha." pic.twitter.com/4Qtzv48YnW

— ANI (@ANI) February 11, 2019

The BJP had won eight Lok Sabha seats from the region during the last Lok Sabha polls in 2014 out of which seven were from Assam, and one from Arunachal Pradesh—Kiren Rijiju, who is Union Minister of State for Home Affairs. BJP president Amit Shah has set the target of winning 21 seats out of 25 in the coming Lok Sabha polls in the region—Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Nagaland. Several organisations have been staging massive protests over the Bill asserting that the legislation will create law and order problems in the North East.