West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday urged people to stop protesting the new citizenship law as the Supreme Court has refused to stay its operation.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to examine the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act but refused to stay its operation.
"@MamataOfficial. Now that the Supreme Court is seized of challenge to validity of Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 and has granted no stay, I appeal all to give up agitational path in the interest of peace so that normalcy returns and suffering of people is contained," Dhankhar tweeted.
The top court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Centre and sought its response by the second week of January next year on a batch of pleas challenging the Act.
The Act provides Indian citizenship rights to non- Muslim migrants of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
President Ram Nath Kovind had given assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, turning it into an Act.
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Violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act had erupted in several districts of West Bengal since December 13.
Agitators had set fire to railway properties and buses in different parts of the state.
Urging agitators to not to resort to violence, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had led three protest rallies in Kolkata and Howrah since December 16 against the law.
The BJP had also taken out rallies in support of the Act.