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Amid anti-Citizenship Act protests, Centre relaxes curfew in Assam

Army and paramilitary columns posted in the region continue to carry on their routine march to prevent violent incidents.

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As protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act continue in Assam, authorities on Saturday relaxed the curfew in Guwahati from 9 AM to 4 PM. In Dibrugarh, there will be curfew from 8 AM to 2 PM. The decision was taken to promote normalcy in the regions.

Petrol pumps will remain open in Guwahati today. Two control rooms have also been set up in the city, one at the airport and other at the railway station.

The Guwahati administration also started bus service in six places including Borjhar, Jhalukbari, Khanpara, Paltan Bazar, Kamakhya Temple, and Ganeshburi. 

To keep the situation under control, Superintendent of Police (SP) of five districts - Kachar, Shantipur, Karimganj, Majhuli, Lakhimpur were also replaced.

As per reports, people are stepping out of their homes and normalcy is returning in the state.

On Friday, the district administration of Dibrugarh relaxed till 1 PM the restrictions placed due to the indefinite curfew, which was put in place in the district and Assam's capital Guwahati on Thursday. According to sources, the restrictions were unclasped keeping in mind the inconveniences being faced by the citizens. However, internet services still remain suspended in ten districts - Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (metro) and Kamrup.

Even though the restrictions have been slackened a bit, army and paramilitary columns posted in the region continue to carry on their routine march and inspection of Guwahati to prevent any violent protests or demonstrations.

In Assam, the internet services were snapped in several places and the suspension had been extended in for 48 hours beginning Thursday noon. An indefinite curfew had also been imposed in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Nalbari, Jorhat, Golaghat, Sonitpur, Tezpur and Biswanath. All schools and colleges have been closed till December 22, 2019. Four people have lost their lives due to the violent protests since Monday.

Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his visit to Shillong, Meghalaya's capital, amidst massive protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in many northeastern states, Ministry of Home Affairs stated.

Amit Shah was supposed to visit the North-Eastern Police Academy (NEPA) on Sunday. "The Union Home Minister was supposed to visit NEPA to attend the passing-out parade of the trained police personnel. But in view of the law and order situation in the northeastern region, especially in Assam, his visit was postponed," an official of NEPA said.

Under the sixth schedule, tribal-dominated regions in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland will be kept outside the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. However, the tweak in the bill did not appease the student unions and civil society groups in Assam and other northeastern states. Massive protests were held by these groups in these regions over the bill's passage in the parliament.

The All Assam Students Union (AASU) moved the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act, stating that due to the continued influx of illegal immigrants in Assam, the Centre has failed to protect the rights of the indigenous people of the state, according to news agency IANS. The AUSU claimed the Act violates the obligations of the Centre under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The petition said the Act attempts to grant blanket exemptions from the provisions of law governing the grant of citizenship to a certain class of foreigners in India, who have entered or are staying in India without valid documents.

Notably, as many as 11 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court so far against the Citizenship Act. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has also approached the apex court to challenge the validity of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

In the wake of the violent protests over the Citizenship Act that have marked the Northeast region of India, several countries - including Israel, the United Kingdom (UK) and France - have urged their citizens to refrain from visiting the northeast states of India and to minimize their stay there even if they have.

President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on Thursday, becoming an act of the constitution. The contentious bill was passed in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, two days after it was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with a 125-105 vote share, two days after it was passed in the Lok Sabha following a 12-hour long debate.

125 votes fell in favour of the Bill, while 105 votes were against it. The controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, day after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday midnight. 

The Act aims to provide for Indian citizenship to the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of the current mandatory stay of 11 years even if they do not possess any document. Several from the Northeast have claimed that the Citizenship rules puts the indigenous identity of the Northeastern regions at risk by legitimising several migrants, even though the central government has refuted any such claim.

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