EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THE HINDU DELHI FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2020 NEWS 13 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE We briefed nations on CAA, says govt. Videos show protesters MEA spokesperson denies that foreign diplomats in India are unhappy with lack of communication being roughed up in Assam Special Correspondent to persecuted minorities al­ CAA at the time, is expected NEW DELHI ready in India, from Pakis­ to attend the Ministry’s an­ Police say mild force was used on man who resisted detention The Union government pur­ tan, Afghanistan and Bangla­ nual Raisina Dialogue from sued a rigorous “two­ desh. It doesn’t affect the January 14 to 16. Ten Foreign SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT pronged” strategy on con­ existing avenues already Ministers are attending the GUWAHATI veying its explanation on the available to other communi­ Dialogue, which will be ad­ Videos posted on social me­ Citizenship Amendment Act ties,” he said. dressed by Australian Prime dia have shown security per­ (CAA) controversy in India, Minister Scott Morrison. sonnel roughing up those the External Affairs Ministry Call with Hasina The Ministry spokesper­ protesting against the Citi­ said on Thursday, stressing Mr. Kumar declined to com­ son said India had expressed zenship (Amendment) Act that the Act merely speeds ment on whether Prime Mi­ strong concern to the Malay­ (CAA) and showing black up citizenship applications nister Narendra Modi had sian chargé d’affaires about flags to Chief Minister Sarba­ for communities mentioned discussed the issue with his what he called Malaysian nanda Sonowal in Nalbari in it and is not seeking to “We did reach out to mentioned that the CAA was Bangladesh counterpart Prime Minister Mahathir Mu­ district of Assam on change the Constitution. countries across regions, an internal process, which Sheikh Hasina when he hammad’s “ill­advised and Wednesday. Responding to reports and wrote to all our missions did not seek to strip any greeted her on New Year’s avoidable” comments on the Members of the All Assam that foreign diplomats in In­ and posts asking them to community members of citi­ day. CAA, and the government Students’ Union (AASU) and dia were unhappy with the share our perspectives with zenship. Nor did the CAA al­ A release said the two has spoken to other mem­ the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba To the fore: Women staging a protest against the new lack of communication from host governments [on CAA ter the basic structure of the leaders discussed how to bers of the Organisation of Is­ Chhatra Parishad waved the citizenship law at Chabua in Dibrugarh on Thursday. * PTI the government on the is­ and NRC],” Ministry spokes­ Constitution, Mr. Kumar further strengthen bilateral lamic Cooperation (OIC). flags and shouted slogans as sues that have set off protests person Raveesh Kumar told said. ties. Bangladesh Deputy Fo­ Dismissing reports that the Mr. Sonowal was going to force on a protester who re­ man on Thursday said the in various parts of the coun­ journalists, adding that this “We asked [the embas­ reign Minister Shahriar OIC plans a special meet on the ashram of Vaishnative sisted detention. “An agita­ member who was caned try, the Ministry said the re­ was done in addition to sies] to convey that the Act Alam, who cancelled his visit Kashmir and the CAA in Pa­ cult leader Krishnaguru. tor who was detained was was undergoing treatment ports were “factually incor­ meeting diplomats in Delhi. provides expedited consider­ to Delhi in December osten­ kistan, he said they were caned once or twice for at a hospital in Nalbari. rect”. The government’s brief ation for Indian citizenship sibly over the passage of the “speculative” at present. Chased away pushing after he was de­ A video showed the security tained. The security person­ BJP’s charge personnel chasing away the nel did not resort to any ba­ The Bharatiya Janata Party, protesters from the high­ ton­charge,” Nalbari meanwhile, said AASU acti­ way, another showed a prot­ Superintendent of Police vists had damaged the pro­ Priyanka slams ester being caught and ta­ Amanjeet Kaur said. perty of party workers after ken away in a police van. Police officers said Sec­ an anti­CAA rally in Mori­ Another protester, identi­ tion 144, restricting large gaon district a couple of ‘gag’ in Varanasi fied as Chandan Bezbaruah, gatherings, was in force, days ago. The AASU denied was caned. and the protesters had not the allegation, insisting that ‘Section 144 in force 359 days a year’ The police downplayed taken permission from the its workers had not deviated the incident, saying the se­ police. from their peaceful, demo­ SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT curity personnel used mild AASU leader Himan Bar­ cratic protests. NEW DELHI Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 999 Bangladeshis were in India saying he has the “gall to tell people they have nothing to Back home: Activist Ekta Shekhar reunited with her 14-month-old baby in Varanasi on fear” when Section 144 was illegally, says border force head Thursday, after a court granted bail to her and her husband Ravi Shekhar. * PTI imposed in his Lok Sabha Priyanka Gandhi Vadra constituency of Varanasi on They were arrested while going to India or returning home “359 out of 365 days”. ing to fear,” Ms. Vadra tweet­ Under the Code of Crimi­ ed, and tagged a The Hindu ‘BJP talks of Emergency, but nal Procedure, Section 144 report from Varanasi pu­ Suvojit Bagchi desh in New Delhi from De­ on bail. prohibits an assembly of blished on Thursday. Kolkata cember 25 to 30, 2019. A couple of weeks ago, more than four persons in The report mentioned Nearly 1,000 Bangladesh na­ Nine hundred and ninety­ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasi­ labels protesters anti-national’ an area. how the political and cultu­ tionals were detained in nine Bangladesh nationals — na’s foreign policy adviser “On 359 out of 365 days in ral discourse around land­ Bangladesh in 2019 for living 135 children, 258 women Gowher Rizvi said in Kolkata the year 2019, Section 144 mark spots such as the Pap­ in India “illegally”, and the and 606 men — were de­ that Bangladesh would take Activist Ekta Shekhar, husband released on bail after 14 days was imposed in Varanasi pu tea stall near the Assi Bangladesh government has tained, Major General Islam its citizens back if they were town... and he has the gall to Ghat Chowk had initiated legal proceedings said at a press conference. illegally staying in India. Omar Rashid while marching to protest granted bail to the couple, say that people have noth­ disappeared. against them, Major General And 312 of them were arrest­ “But it has to be proved that LUCKNOW against the CAA and the pro­ an associate Saniya Anwar Shafeenul Islam, Director­ ed in November and 133 in the person is a Bangladesh The BJP boasts of its opposi­ posed National Register of and more than 50 others. General of Border Guards December. citizen,” he had said. tion to the Emergency im­ Citizens (NRC). The couple’s Ms. Shekhar said the BJP­ Bangladesh (BGB), said in Bangladesh also submit­ posed by then Prime Minis­ incarceration led to much led Central and Uttar Pra­ 40,000 indigenous Dhaka on Thursday. Legal proceedings ted a list of 96 Indians “ille­ ter Indira Gandhi, but while outrage as they had a 14­ desh governments were “in­ This is the first time in re­ Officials said they were ar­ gally” staying in Bangla­ in power the party wants to month­old breastfed toddler tolerant” of any form of prot­ cent decades that Bangla­ rested on the border, while desh. Of them, 62 were crush dissent and label citi­ at home, waiting for their est. “It wants to implement people to get land deeds desh has made public the going to India or returning handed over to the Border zens protesting peacefully as return. the CAA and is firm on it. number of its citizens who home. Their identities were Security Force (BSF) and the “anti­national,” said Ekta They want to suppress peo­ SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT venue and Disaster Manage­ had lived “illegally” in India. ascertained and legal pro­ rest were detained. Legal Shekhar, an environment ac­ ‘Protesting a policy’ ple’s voices,” she added. GUWAHATI ment Department. The announcement came ceedings initiated “as per proceedings were opened tivist from Varanasi. “They [the BJP and the RSS] Ms. Shekhar, who focuss­ To calm the tempers stoked The meeting also decided following the talks between law for illegally entering and against them. At least 35 Ms. Shekhar was released say they ran a movement es on climate change in by the protests against the to give ₹2 lakh each a year to the Directors­General of the staying” in another country. Bangladesh nationals have on bail on Thursday after against the Emergency,” Ms. Prime Minister Narendra Citizenship (Amendment) 160 ‘satras’ (Vaishnav mo­ Border Security Force (BSF) Those arrested were eith­