Muslim Sewa Sangathan protests against CAA in Dehradun

Muslim Sewa Sangathan and people from different organisations here on Sunday staged a protest against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The protesters, with black ribbons on their face, demanded immediate withdrawal of the Act and warned the government not to suppress the people's movement.

"The CAA is not acceptable at any cost. The government should immediately take back this decision. The NRC and the CAA are dividing the country on the basis of religion," said a protestor.

Some protestors said the CAA violates the secular identity of the country while others fear that it will endanger their linguistic and cultural identity.

The personnel of city police and paramilitary forces were deployed in large numbers as part of the security measures. Senior police officials were monitoring the situation.

Protests have erupted across the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.