In the midst of nationwide protests over the amended Citizenship Act, Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi on Tuesday said that he has asked authorities to "shoot at sight" anybody who causes damage to Railway property.
"If anyone is destroying railway property, then I ask the chief minister of the particular state to initiate stringent action just as Sardar Vallabhai Patel had taken to merge Hyderabad with India," he said at Hubballi.
This was in response to questions by reporters who asked him about the steps taken to prevent damage to Railway property due to CAA related protests.
Hyderabad merged with the Union of India after police action under the leadership of India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which forced the Nizam and his army to surrender.
Recently, railway services were badly affected in West Bengal as anti-CAA protesters blocked railway tracks, ransacked some stations and set fire on railway tracks.
When asked what he meant by stringent action, Angadi said, "Stringent action means shoot at sight..."
Stating that the CAA will not cause any trouble to Indian citizens, the union minister said "the CAA shows how courageous Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are. "