Punjab 'bandh' called by radical Sikh outfit gets lukewarm response

The one-day 'Punjab bandh' call given by radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa and SAD (Amritsar) against the CAA and the NRC evoked lukewarm response in most parts of the state barring Amritsar.

Markets and commercial establishments remained opened in most parts of the state as protesters at a few places faced opposition from shopkeepers for trying to forcibly down the shutters of their shops.

Protesters carrying black flags and placards against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) took out protest marches and raised slogans against the BJP-led government at the Centre.

The impact of the shutdown call was visible in Amritsar as traders kept their shops and commercial establishments shut.

The protest remained peaceful, officials said.

Carrying placards that read 'Punjab Rejects CAA, NRC' and raising slogans against the Union government, the demonstrators, led by Dal Khalsa president H S Cheema and spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh assembled at Bhandari bridge and took out a protest rally.

Cheema said by observing the 'bandh', the people of the state had registered their protest against the CAA and NRC, the RSS' agenda of 'Hindu Rashtra' and also reiterated that Punjab would not be part of a "theocratic Hindu state".

Terming the law as "divisive and discriminative", Kanwar Pal Singh said accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of "suppressing" the voices of protesters