Thousands gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday, 14 December, to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, which offers citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who are fleeing “religious persecution”.
The omission of Muslims from this legislation and the inclusion of religion as a criteria for citizenship has prompted many to take their protests to the streets.
The Janpath metro station has been closed due to the protests. The entry and exit gates have been shut as per the instructions by Delhi Police.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill was introduced on Monday, 9 December, by Home Minister Amit in Lok Sabha, and it was eventually cleared by both the houses of the Parliament after which it became an Act with the approval of President Ram Nath Kovind on 11 December.
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