Net ban amid riots
Modi government cracks down as death roll rises to 23
NEW DELHI: Indian authorities have stepped up phone and mobile internet shutdowns in some parts of the country in an effort to thwart a groundswell of protests over a new citizenship law that excludes Muslims.
Thousands of people joined rallies yesterday, with 23 killed so far in the unrest, police said.
Nine people died in clashes with police in Uttar Pradesh yesterday, said state police spokesman Pravin Kumar. He said most of the victims were young people but denied police were responsible.
“Some of them died of bullet injuries, but these injuries are not because of police fire. The e police have used only nly tear gas to scare away the agitating mob,” he said.
Around a dozen vehicles were set on fire as protesters rampaged through the northern cities of Rampur, Sambhal, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnore and Kanpur, where a police station was also torched, Mr S Singh said.
The backlash a against the law marks the strongest show of dissent against th the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (pictured) since he was first elected in 2014. The law allows Hindus, Christians and other religious minorities who are in India illegally to become citizens if they can show they were persecuted because of their religion in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan or Afghanistan. It does not apply to Muslims.
Critics have slammed the legislation as a violation of India’s secular constitution and have called it the latest effort by the Modi government to marginalise the country’s 200 million Muslims. Modi has defended the law as a humanitarian gesture.
Uttar Pradesh state is controlled by Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. An antiterror squad was deployed and internet services were suspended for another 48 hours in the state.
Six people were killed during clashes in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, and police said Saturday that over 600 had been taken into custody since then as part of “preventive action”.
Five people have been arrested and 13 cases filed for posting “objectionable” material on social media.