Citizenship Act: Amit Shah claims there is ‘no link’ between National Population Register and NRC

9.49 pm: Here’s a map of protests around the world, based on data collected by students of the Oxford University.

9.41 pm: Thousands of people hit the streets across Assam on Tuesday to protest against the new citizenship legislation, PTI reports. The largest gathering was in Dibrugarh, the report adds.

9.33 pm: Congress leader Ajay Maken says Amit Shah’s claim that there is no link between the National Population Register and the NRC is a “bigger lie” than what the prime minister had said at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on Sunday, PTI reports.

Maken says that during the 2021 Census, if the National Population Register is conducted in this way then it will be objectionable. “He is lying because of the anger of the people,” Maken says of Shah.

9.26 pm: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacks the Centre over the approval of a fund to update the National Population Register. He says the BJP government’s “hidden motives” to have a National Register of Citizens have been exposed.

9.12 pm: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren says that he will go through the amended citizenship law, and if it “uproots” even one person from the state, it will not be implemented, PTI reports. Soren is set to take oath as the chief minister of Jharkhand after his party won the Assembly polls in alliance with the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

9.05 pm: BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav says that the National Population Register will not be public, but will be used by government agencies on need basis for implementing programmes.

9 pm: A lawyer in Aligarh has filed a petition against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, All India Majlis-e-Ittahadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin, alleging that they made inflammatory statements in connection with the Citizenship Amendment Act, News18 reports.

8.45 pm: The Anjuman-e-Islam group organised a rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Hubli in Karnataka earlier in the day, ANI reports.

8.33 pm: “We also did National Population Register in 2011, but we never took it forward to NRC,” says Congress leader Ajay Maken, according to ANI.

8.10 pm: Here are some photos from anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Tuesday.

8.03 pm: A report prepared by a group of activists looking into the violence that broke out at the Aligarh Muslim University last week has alleged that the Uttar Pradesh Police indulged in “unbridled human rights violations”, PTI reports. The report, titled “The Siege of AMU” has been released at a media conference in New Delhi.

7.57 pm: Senior Maharashtra BJP leader Ashish Shelar claims that the state government is instigating protests against the new citizenship law and spreading “misinformation” about it, PTI reports.

7.54 pm: The Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union urges President Ram Nath Kovind to visit campus and meet the students injured in police action during last week’s protests, PTI reports.

7.52 pm: A research scholar, who was injured in protests at the Aligarh Muslim University campus last week, has been appointed ad-hoc assistant professor in department of chemistry on “compassionate grounds”, PTI reports.

7.50 pm: Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien claims that the Centre is trying to fool the people in the name of the National Population Register, which is the “first step towards NRC”, PTI reports.

7.37 pm: Shah claims that the 19 lakh people excluded from the National Register of Citizens in Assam have not been put into detention centres. He also claims that there are no other detention centres in the country other than in Assam.

7.36 pm: Shah claims that the detention centres built in India are not linked to the National Register of Citizens exercise. They are for those foreigners who are not allowed to enter India or parts of India. The foreigners are kept in these centres until they are sent back to their countries, Shah adds.

“Where do we keep people who do not have a visa etc?” Shah asks. “Detention centres are a facility to hold them until they are deported.” He calls the detention centres a “continuous process” that has existed for a long time.

7.34 pm: Shah says that the people of the country have now begun to understand that the Citizenship Amendment Act will not deprive any citizen of India of their citizenship, and so the protests have reduced.

7.31 pm: Shah says that the Ministry of Home Affairs has tried its best to bring about peace and harmony in the country following the protests. He adds that while the indigenous people in the Northeast and in West Bengal had some reason to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act, the more violent, politically-backed protests took place in other parts of the country.

7.29 pm: Shah says that even if some people find their names missing from the National Population Register, it will not deprive them of citizenship.

7.26 pm: Amit Shah says the National Population Register announcement had to be made on Tuesday because mapping of households has to begin in April 2020 for the 2021 Census. He adds that hundreds of thousands of people have to be trained to carry out the census exercise.

7.19 pm: Shah claims that no documents will be required to enter a person’s name in the National Population Register.

7.17 pm: Shah reiterates that the Citizenship Amendment Act does not take away citizenship from any Indian citizen, including Muslims. He accuses the Opposition of instigating the people through misinformation.

7.16 pm: Amit Shah claims that since protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act are now dying down, the Opposition is playing politics by bringing up the matter of the National Population Register.

7.13 pm: Shah says that it is difficult to take policy decisions for the poor without a population register. He requests West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan not to stop the work of the National Population Register, in the interest of poor people of the country.

7.09 pm: Amit Shah tells ANI that the National Population Register was launched by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in 2010, not by the BJP.

7.05 pm: Amit Shah tells ANI that there is no need to debate a pan-India NRC right now as there is no discussion on the same. “PM Modi was right, there is no discussion on it yet either in the Cabinet or Parliament,” he adds.

7.03 pm: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) says that chief ministers who opposed the NRC should also stop the National Population Register process, PTI reports. “NPR=NRC. How much more will the Modi government lie and mislead the people?” CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury asks. “ It was stated clearly on the record in the Rajya Sabha by this government that the National Population Register is the base document from where the NRC work will start.”

6.57 pm: Union Home Minister Amit Shah tells ANI that he wants to clearly state that there is no link between National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register

6.49 pm: The Maharashtra Congress says that the Centre asked states to set up detention centres for undocumented migrants, PTI reports. Maharashtra Congress Spokesperson Sachin Sawant accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making a false statement in his Delhi rally by claiming there was no talk of NRC or detention centres by the Union government.

6.39 pm: A Delhi court has directed Mandoli Jail authorities to immediately provide medical treatment to one of those arrested in connection with a protest at Seelampur against the amended Citizenship Act on December 17, PTI reports. Metropolitan Magistrate Richa Parihar has directed the jail superintendent to provide medical assistance to Moinuddin as he sustained serious injuries on his hand during the protest.

6.22 pm: A student from the Department of International Relations at Jadavpur University in Kolkata has registered her protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act by tearing up a copy of the legislation. “We will not show our documents,” Debsmita Chowdhury says after ripping up the legislation.

6.10 pm: Huge protests against the new citizenship law have continued in parts of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, PTI reports. Hundreds of people have gathered in Salem city to stage a demonstration against the Act. Muslim bodies in Krishnagiri have also organised a protest.

6 pm: Former Karnataka minister and senior Congress leader UT Khader alleges that there is a conspiracy within the BJP behind the recent violence in Mangaluru, to bring Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa into disrepute, PTI reports. He demands a judicial inquiry to establish the facts.

5.56 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accuses Modi and Shah of creating confusion in the minds of people, The Times of India reports. “PM Modi is saying there has been no discussion or proposal on NRC,” she says. “But a few days ago, Amit Shah had said NRC exercise would be carried out across the country. Both the statements are contradictory. We wonder who is speaking the truth.”

5.52 pm: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor says that in their “communal zealotry” as regards the amended citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have gone farther than even their allies can accept.

5.49 pm: Here are photographs from the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in New Delhi:

5.44 pm: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh condemns the Uttar Pradesh government for not allowing Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to enter Meerut and meet the families of those who died during protests against the amended Act.

5.42 pm: Mumbai resident Puneet Kaur Dhanda has filed a plea in the Supreme Court in support of the citizenship law, seeking action against political parties trying to spread “rumours” about the Act, PTI reports. The plea also seeks a direction to the Election Commission “to identify and take strict action against the political parties spreading false rumours and violence in the country”.

5.39 pm: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant asks Opposition parties not to create fear in the minds of the people about the Citizenship Amendment Act, PTI reports.

“The law will have no impact on Goans,” Sawant tells reporters. “Muslims especially need not worry at all. Those who have no knowledge of CAA are instigating people. I am asking political opponents to not create fear among people about CAA.” He said the law will be implemented in the state.

5.35 pm: The Ministry of Home Affairs says the Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to amend the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, to give indigenous people of Manipur from the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

5.29 pm: The Centre says that currently, there is no proposal to conduct a nationwide National Register of Citizens exercise, ANI reports. “We have never said that National Population Register) will be used as NRC,” Union minister Prakash Javadekar says.

5.25 pm: The damage to property during the clashes in Rampur on Saturday is around Rs 15 lakh, a police officer tells PTI. The property of those identified as responsible for the violence will be attached, the news agency reports.

A 22-year-old man died of a bullet injury on Saturday during the clashes between protestors and police. The Rampur Police have arrested 33 people in this connection so far.

5.20 pm: “More than 150 people have been identified so far for causing damages to public and private property,” Rampur Superintendent of Police Ajay Pal Sharma tells PTI. “Parvez, a driver and close associate of former state minister Azam Khan, is also seen in pictures and video footages hurling stones at the police personnel.”

5.15 pm: The Uttar Pradesh Police claim more than 150 people have been identified for damaging public and private property in Rampur during Citizenship Act protests last week, PTI reports.

4.50 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan calls for a meeting between all political parties, and religious and social groups on December 29 in Thiruvananthapuram to discuss the amended citizenship legislation, ANI reports.

4.40 pm: “Our purpose is to develop the coordination between protesting students/organisations/unions on a national scale and enhance its scope and impact,” N Sai Balaji, the former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president, adds.

Students’ unions from Pune, Rajasthan, Punjab, Assam and Gandhinagar are supporting the movement, PTI reports.

4.30 pm: More than 70 youth organisations across India join hands to intensify the protests against the new citizenship legislation, PTI reports.

Members of the National Young India Co-ordination and Campaign will take a pledge on New Year’s Day to save the constitution. “We had over 50 organisations supporting us when we did the press release for the launch of National Young India Co-ordination and Campaign,” N Sai Balaji, member of the Young India National Coordination Committee says at a press conference in Delhi. “Now the number is 70 and counting.”

3.54 pm: The Cabinet has approved an expenditure of Rs 8,754.23 crore for the exercise of Census of India 2021 and Rs 3,941.35 crore for updation of National Population Register, says Javadekar.

Read more here:

Cabinet approves updating National Population Register amid concerns about NRC

3.52 pm: “NPR was rolled out in 2010 under the UPA government,” says Javadekar.

3.51 pm: Cabinet has approved the conducting of census of India 2021 and updating of National Population Register, says Javadekar. “It is self declaration, no document, biometric etc required for it.”

3.50 pm: Union minister Prakash Javadekar addresses the media.

3.42 pm: Kerala Police detain Youth Congress workers after they tried to block the convoy of Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa in Kannur, reports ANI.

3.40 pm: The Tis Hazari court issues notice to the Delhi Police on the bail plea of six of the 15 people sent in judicial custody in connection with the Daryaganj violence, PTI reports. The remaining nine people have also moved their bail application in the trial court. The matter will now be heard on December 26.

Also read:

Citizenship Act: 15 accused in Daryaganj violence case denied bail by Delhi court

3.30 pm: “They want to make it a war between Hindu-Muslim and we want our country to be “Hindustan” – a country for all,” says Mamata Banerjee while addressing a rally in Kolkata. “Today our protest is for people who want unity and peace.”

3.10 pm: Protests continue at Jantar Mantar against CAA and NRC, reports Newslaundry. Those who have gathered are also condemning the violence and death of people in UP and Assam.

2.55 pm: The Kerala and West Bengal governments have stayed all work connected to updating the National Population Register. The central government has decided to prepare the NPR between April 2020 and September 2020. The exercise is conducted at the local, sub-district, district, state and national levels. The data collected during NPR will be used when the National Register of Citizens will be rolled out across the country. The NPR was first prepared in 2010 and updated in 2015.

Also read:

After West Bengal, Kerala also stops work related to National Population Register

2.50 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leads a protest march from Swami Vivekananda statue at Bidhan Sarani in North Kolkata to Gandhi Bhawan in Beleghata.

2.49 pm: Union Cabinet approves over Rs 8,500 crore for updating National Population Register, reports PTI. The database will have demographic as well as biometric details.

2.36 pm: Thousands gather for the AASU protest in Dibrugarh’s Chowkidinghi playground against the Citizenship Amendment Act, reports The Indian Express.

2.30 pm: A complaint has been filed against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi for provocative speeches against amended Citizenship Act, reports ANI.

2.06 pm: The rally from Delhi’s Mandi House locality is on its way towards Jantar Mantar. “We hope that very soon the government will be forced to come clean and say “No to NRC,” Yogendra Yadav tells Newslaundry.

2.02 pm: Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi are on their way back to Delhi after they were not allowed to enter Meerut, reports ANI.

2.01 pm: Cases have been filed against 8,000 people, including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President MK Stalin, for not taking the police’s permission to organise a rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Chennai on Monday, reports ANI.

Also read:

In pictures: Thousands take to the streets in Bengaluru, Chennai against the Citizenship Act

1.49 pm: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have been stopped from entering Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district to meet the families of people killed in protests against Citizenship Amendment Act, reports NDTV.

1.36 pm: Academic and Swarajya India leader Yogendra Yadav is at the Mandi House protest march, which will wind up at Jantar Mantar.

1.32 pm: Mamata Banerjee says people have started giving “befitting replies” to the Centre and “the Jharkhand poll results are its latest example”, reports PTI.

1.29 pm: At the start of the march, Mamata Banerjee accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of lying about detention centres and nationwide NRC, reports Anandabazar Patrika.

Also read:

The BJP owes it to India to honestly explain its stand on a nationwide NRC

1.24 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is leading a protest march against the Citizenship Amendment Act, and National Register of Citizens from Kolkata’s Bidhan Sarani area to Beleghata, reports Anandabazar Patrika.

12.46 pm: Protestors gather at Mandi House.

12.45 pm: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have left for Meerut to meet families of those killed in violence that broke out during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, reports ANI.

12.40 pm: Sansad Marg is shut for vehicular movement. The Delhi Traffic Police ask commuters to avoid the stretch.

12.10 pm: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar leaves after he was blocked by protesting students from entering Kolkata’s Jadavpur University, reports ANI.

11.57 am: The major archbishop of Syro Malabar Church, Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, urges the Centre to review the Citizenship Amendment Act. “We need a more democratic debate on this act,” he tells ANI.

11.55 am: The Delhi Police impose Section 144 in Mandi House ahead of Swaraj Abhiyan’s protest against the new citizenship law, reports News18. The rally is supposed to be held from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar. Swaraj Abhiyan chief Yogendra Yadav is supposed to lead the rally.

11.54 am: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar says it was “a painful moment” for him when the students blocked his car, reports ANI. “There’s total collapse of rule of law in the state,” he adds. “The state government has put education in captivity.”

11.50 am: The Delhi High Court refuses to entertain a plea that alleged that the order to suspend telecom services in the national Capital on December 19 was in violation of rules, reports PTI. Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre, tells the court that the disruption was only for four hours. The court says the petitioner can file a suit for damages.

11.45 am: The Union Cabinet is expected to discuss and approve the proposal to update the National Population Register today, reports NDTV.

11.32 am: Chandra Kumar Bose, the vice president of Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal unit, defies the party line to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act. Bose, who is the grandnephew of Subhash Chandra Bose, says India is open to all religions and communities. He also points out that Muslims too were persecuted in their home countries. “...What about Baluch who live in Pakistan & Afghanistan?” Bose asks in a tweet. “What about Ahwadiyya in Pakistan?”

Also read

‘Why not include Muslims?’ Bengal BJP leader Chandra Kumar Bose questions amended citizenship law

11.30 am: Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury says the young are rightly worried about the country’s future. He praises the courage shown by a student of Pondicherry University who refused to accept the gold medal to express solidarity with students protesting against the new citizenship law. “Our solidarity with all patriotic Indians like the courageous Rabeeha,” he tweets. Yechury also condemns reports of a German student being asked to leave India for taking part in the protests.

11.26 am: BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay files a plea before Delhi High Court seeking directions to the authorities to recover damages for destruction of public and private property during protests from those responsible, reports PTI. The bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar declines an urgent hearing, and says that Upadhyay is free to file an application that will be listed in the normal course.

11.14 am: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray tells Muslim delegations that the amendments to the Citizenship Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens will not be implemented in the state. He says the state government will not build any detention centres.

Also read

Maharashtra won’t implement CAA or NRC, no detention centre in state, Uddhav Thackeray tells Muslims

11.09 am: A German student was asked to leave India days after he attended a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. During a protest in Chennai, he had carried a poster that made a reference to the Nazi rule in his own country: “1933 to 1945 – we have been there”.

Also read

CAA protests: German student at IIT-M, whose placard drew Nazi reference, asked to leave India

11.08 am: A bullet found in the body of a 20-year-old civilian killed in last week’s anti-Citizenship Act protests in Uttar Pradesh was fired from the service pistol of a police constable, the state police admitted.The constable shot Mohammad Suleman in “self-defence” during protests in Bijnor district, senior officials claimed. The police had so far claimed that they had not fired even a single bullet at protestors.

Also read

CAA protests in UP: Police bullet that killed 20-year-old was fired ‘in self defence’, says official

11.06 am: The Uttar Pradesh Police have assaulted activist Deepak Kabir and imprisoned him in Lucknow on Friday after he went to a police station to inquire about some people missing since an anti-Citizenship Act protest the day before, his wife Veena Rana has claimed. The 48-year-old was arrested on charges of rioting and preventing public servants from performing their duty, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday, quoting a relative.

Also read

CAA protests: Lucknow activist goes to police looking for missing protestors, gets arrested

11.03 am: Political strategist and Janata Dal (United) leader Prashant Kishor asks the Congress to make its stand clear on NRC.

“Thanks rahulgandhi for joining citizens’ movement against CAA_NRC,” Kishor tweets. “But as you know beyond public protests we also need states to say NO to #NRC to stop it. We hope you will impress upon the CP to OFFICIALLY announce that there will be #No_NRC in the #Congress ruled states.”

10.50 am: The governor says the number of students involved is only 50. “System being held hostage and those enjoined with the task are oblivious of their obligations,” he tweets. “A collapse that can only lead to unwholesome consequences. Rule of law is no where in sight. As constitutional head concerned.”

10.48 am: Students at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University surround West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as he arrives to attend the annual convocation ceremony, reports ANI. The students, waving black flags, are protesting against the amended Citizenship Act and Dhankhar’s support to the law.

10.45 am: Here are the top updates from Monday:

• Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Monday that the Narendra Modi-led government was doing what India’s enemies could not do – stall the progress of the country. He made the remarks after reading out the Preamble to the Indian Constitution along with Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Rajghat in New Delhi, during a protest against the amendments to the Citizenship Act.  
• Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday said his government would not implement the National Register of Citizens. Reddy’s party, the YSR Congress Party, had voted for the amendments to the Citizenship Act in both Houses of Parliament earlier this month.  
• Members of a feminist group in Kolkata were attacked by men allegedly wielding sticks and shouting “Jai Shri Ram” on Sunday night for organising a mobile campaign against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens exercise. While one person was beaten, others received minor injuries. One woman also filed a molestation complaint against one of the attackers.  
• Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act continued on Monday, with thousands of people showing up at rallies in Bengaluru and Chennai. In Bengaluru, one of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act was organised at 11 am at the Hazarath Khazi Mohammed Abdul Khuddus Sahib Eidgah on Miller Road. The rally was called by around 35 organisations under the banner of Joint Action Committee of Bengaluru. In Chennai, the protests were mainly organised by leading Opposition party the MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which said that the demonstrations will not stop until the Citizenship Amendment Act is repealed. Congress leader P Chidambaram and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Vaiko along with Left leaders also joined the protests. The rally ended at Rajarathinam stadium.    
• The Calcutta High Court on Monday told the West Bengal government to suspend its media campaigns against the Citizenship Amendment Act. A division bench of Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Arijit Banerjee also sought the Trinamool Congress government’s detailed reply to the petitioners’ claim that taxpayers’ money was used for the campaigns, and posted it for hearing on January 9.  
• A local court on Monday refused to give bail to 15 people accused in connection with last Friday’s violence in Daryaganj area of Old Delhi. The accused were sent to judicial custody for two weeks. Tis Hazari Metropolitan Magistrate Kapil Kumar dismissed the bail applications saying the allegations were serious and investigation was still under way. “Such kind of incidents create panic in society,” the court said, adding that “violence for any reason is not justified”.