People have right to protest; Yogi Adityanath creating a divide: Nawab Malik

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Nawab Malik on Friday said that people have the right to protest while alleging that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath deliberately allowed the situation to deteriorate and go out of hand in his state.

"People have the right to protest in the country. The protests in the other parts of the country were peaceful but Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister deliberately allowed the situation to go out of hand and is creating a divide between the people on the basis of religion," Malik told ANI.

His comments came after protests against the amended citizenship law turned violent in various districts of the state, in which a number of people died and scores sustained injuries.

"The manner in which the UP government, police and administration handled the situation is not right due to which many people lost their lives," the NCP spokesperson contended.

Malik said that as a chief minister Adityanath should have met those injured or even the families of people killed in the protest. Continuing its tirade against the BJP government, he added, "BJP is continuously trying to deteriorate the situation in the country."

Yogi Adityanath has taken an oath not to discriminate, Malik said, adding that the state Governor should see what action needs to be taken against him.

The state police had yesterday confirmed that a total 1,113 people have been arrested in different parts of the state in connection with the anti-CAA protests.

They asserted that 327 FIRs have been lodged in connection with the protests and 19 people have lost their lives in violence over the issue.

The people were protesting over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists, and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.