Senior Maharashtra Congress leaders on Monday evening held a protest against the police crackdown on students in Delhi and Aligarh for opposing the proposed implementation of the new citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The party workers and leaders, including state unit chief Balasaheb Thorat, former chief minister Ashok Chavan, Vijay Waddetiwar to name a few, staged a demonstration at Variety Square in the east Maharashtra city, where the winter session of the state legislature is currently underway.
"We condemn the inhuman behaviour of the police against the students opposing the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) in Delhi," said Thorat whose party is a ruling constituent in the Shiv Sena-led coalition government in Maharashtra.
The CAA proposes to grant citizenship to persecuted religious minorities who have come to India until December 31, 2014 from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, excluding Muslims.
Police and students of the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) who were protesting against the amended citizenship law, had clashed on Sunday evening. Similar clashes occurred between students of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and police in Uttar Pradesh.
The police action has galvanised solidarity from the student community in many states where protests were held on Monday.
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