Protesters stop Janshatabdi Express in Bihar's Jehanabad
As protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Registrar of Citizens (NRC) continue to take place, agitators in Bihar's Jehanabad stopped a Janshatabdi Express train on Saturday.
More than a dozen protesters who stopped the express train at Jehanabad station resorted to sloganeering. The agitators appeared to be affiliated to Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Jananta Dal (RJD) as they were heard raising slogans, "Lalu Yadav jindabad... desh ka neta kaiso hai, Lalu Yadav jaisa ho... NRC ko wapas lena hoga... Rashtriya Janata Dal jindabad..."
Watch — Protesters stop Janshatabdi Express in Bihar's Jehanabad, raise slogans against NRC pic.twitter.com/6OKrScOOyE
— India TV (@indiatvnews) December 21, 2019
On Friday, Lalu Yadav's RJD had called for Bihar bandh for Saturday (today) amid nationwide protest against CAA and NRC.
Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC have gripped several states in the country.
On December 20, six people were killed after clashes broke out with police after Friday prayers at several places in Uttar Pradesh. Incidents of stone-pelting and torching vehicles were also reported.
Director General of Police OP Singh, however, confirmed only five deaths during the violence in about 20 districts. Singh told PTI that two people lost their lives in Bijnor and one each in Meerut, Sambhal and Firozabad. But officials reported a death in Kanpur as well.
Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday declared that the planned National Register for Citizens (NRC) will not be implemented in the state, becoming the first major NDA ally to reject the controversial measure that has been stoutly opposed by several non-BJP chief ministers.
As the JD(U) veteran lends weight to the chorus against imposition of the NRC, the Centre sought to allay any fears about this massive exercise.
A top official of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said anyone born in India before July 1, 1987 or whose parents were born before that date are bona fide Indian citizens according to law and need not worry due to the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) or a possible countrywide NRC.
Amid nationwide protests against the new Citizenship law, Kumar spelt out his party's stand in a terse reply to queries from journalists who sought his response on the proposed countrywide implementation of the NRC, including in Bihar.
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