Won't stop students from protesting, but violence won't be tolerated: Punjab CM

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Amid raging protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said that his government will not stop students from demonstrating, but asserted that it will not allow the peace of the state to be disturbed at any cost.

"Protests are the democratic right of every citizen of India. People, including students, are within their rights to stage peaceful dharna and marches against these draconian initiatives of the government, as long as these protests are conducted peacefully," he said.

However, Singh warned that no violence or destruction of public property will be tolerated during the planned statewide protest on January 1.

"The police have been directed to come down heavily against any attempt by the protesters to vandalise public property or otherwise indulge in any violence during the protest," he added.

The Chief Minister urged the student leaders to ensure that the protest is carried out peacefully, and to keep a check for possible infiltration of 'goonda elements' among the protesters.

The Singh-led government in Punjab has vocally criticised the CAA and NRC, with Singh stating that "the Punjab government would not allow the implementation of the CAA in the state and would continue to fight it 'tooth and nail'".

This comes amid widespread protests across the country against the newly-enacted citizenship law, which grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.