Haridwar witnessed a rally being held against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) while another rally was held to express support for the Act. The two rallies were conducted peacefully under monitoring by the police and district administration.
The Bajrang Dal along with some other organisations held a rally in favour of the CAA. This rally was held from Rishikul Ground. On the other hand, the Bhim Army organised a demonstration against the CAA.
To prevent the possibility of any violence in case demonstrators with opposing views confronted each other, the authorities had announced imposition of section 144 in the district. Under the leadership of Bajrang Dal state convenor Anuj Walia, thousands of people gathered in Rishikul Ground and took part in the demonstration in support of the CAA.
He thanked the Government for the Act being passed by the parliament to provide some relief to members of the Hindu and other minorities in neighbouring Islamic nations, seeking Indian citizenship. Stating that the CAA does not affect any existing citizen of the country, he said that the Bajrang Dal welcomes and congratulates the Central Government for the Act.
However, some people are trying to provoke riots by spreading rumours to spoil the atmosphere of the country which is strongly condemned by the Bajrang Dal. He also condemned incidents of violence wherein damage to public and private properties had been caused and some policemen had also been assaulted.
He requested the Government to take stringent actions against such rioters to prevent the disturbance from spreading in other parts of the nation. Haridwar senior superintendent of police, Senthil Avoodai Krishnaraj S said that the peace was not disturbed and the law and order situation was not disrupted due to the demonstrations held on Sunday.
The situation in the district has remained under control, he said. Meanwhile, the inspector general of Garhwal range, Ajay Rautela has also reached Haridwar.