NEW DELHI • Police in the Indian capital of New Delhi broke up the longest-running protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's citizenship law yesterday, citing a ban on public gatherings because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Dozens of people, many of them women, have been staging a sit-in protest since early December on a street in the Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood, which has become a focal point for opposition to the law seen as discriminating against Muslims, reported Reuters.
Hundreds of police in riot gear surrounded the protesters early yesterday and told them to leave, said Delhi's joint police commissioner D. C. Srivastava.
"It is a dangerous environment, with this coronavirus, we urged them to leave," he told reporters.
The Economic Times reported that at least 50 protesters were at the site. Some demonstrators resisted the police and at least nine people were detained, six of them women, Mr Srivastava said, adding that there was no violence.
"Most of the protesters vacated the site after police made an appeal but a few refused. So, police detained them," a volunteer at the site said on condition of anonymity.
He added that a decision on resuming the protest would be taken after the coronavirus crisis was under control.
Television channels showed police taking down tents and billboards at the protest site with bulldozers. The Economic Times reported that other protest sites, including Jafrabad in north-east Delhi, Turkman Gate in central Delhi and Hauz Rani in south Delhi, were also cleared by the police.
The move to break up protests comes two days after Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a lockdown in the city till March 31, with a view to curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Prohibitory orders have been issued by the Delhi police under Section 144 of India's Code of Criminal Procedure, banning the assembly of four or more people at one place for protests and other gatherings until March 31.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, which eases the path for non-Muslims from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries to gain citizenship, triggered weeks of sometimes violent protests against Mr Modi's government after it was passed in December, reported Reuters.
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78 Number of people killed in demonstrations triggered by the law across India, a large number of them in another part of Delhi in clashes between Hindus and Muslims.
At least 78 people have been killed in demonstrations triggered by the law across the country, a large number of them in another part of Delhi in clashes between Hindus and Muslims.
Critics say the law discriminates against Muslims and the issue has deepened concern that Mr Modi's administration is undermining India's secular traditions. Mr Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denies any bias against India's 180 million Muslims.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the protest at Shaheen Bagh had become a thorn in the government's side, and there had been calls by hardline Hindu groups linked to Mr Modi's alliance and residents in the area to clear it out.
The hashtag #ShaheenBaghEmpty was trending on Twitter yesterday, reported the BBC.
The Shaheen Bagh protest is one of the few times that India's Muslim women have come out in such large numbers to support a movement of this nature, though many women of other religions have also joined them in solidarity.
Many social media users praised the protesters as inspirational. But for many supporters of the BJP government, the breaking up of the protest was a reason to celebrate.
India has reported 471 cases of the coronavirus but health experts have warned that a big jump is imminent, which would likely overwhelm its underfunded and crumbling public health infrastructure.
