Section 144 is imposed in major parts of the country including Bangalore, Mangalore, UP, Delhi and parts of Karnataka ahead of the protests against CAA ( Citizenship Amendment Act) which were to held on 19th December 2019. Bengaluru Commissioner Bhaskar Rao stated to a reputed news agency that Section 144 will be imposed for the next 3 days. From 6 am on Thursday, 19th December 2019 till midnight on Saturday, December 22nd 2019. Besides Bangalore, Section 144 has also been imposed in Uttar Pradesh. On Wednesday, the UP Police stated that no permission had been granted for protests happening in the state. However, the Samajwadi Party is planning on holding protests today.
What Does This Mean?
Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai informed that it’s just a precautionary measure to avoid any possible violence. Section 144 prohibits an assembly of four or more people holding public meetings or carrying firearms. A series of protests took place in Bangalore and Tuesday’s protests marked the 3rd consecutive day of protests in the city. With the police action on students at Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Milia Islamia, the protests in Bangalore intensified. 144 has also been imposed near Red Fort in Delhi to quell protests.
This decision of imposing Section 144 in Bangalore and parts of Karnataka comes after the Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao had stated that sit-down protests would be allowed in the city under certain conditions. However, students were not allowed to take to the streets to protest. He had quoted that the police would allow peaceful sit-down protests but would prohibit any form of marches or rallies. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao had also said that he wasn’t happy about protests erupting in Bangalore due to violence that took place in other states.
What’s More?
This Thursday and Friday, around 2 protests were planned in Bangalore. A protest at Town Hall was planned at 11 am under the banner ‘Hum Bharat Ke Log’ supported by NGOs, citizen groups and major opposition parties including the NCP and the Congress. Organizers of this protest still intend to go ahead despite the prohibitory orders.
Left parties like CPI(ML), CPI and CPI(M) also planned to hold agitation against the CAA and NRC at 11 am in Mysore Bank Circle. Students from various colleges in Bangalore plan to hold a second protest at Town Hall at 5 pm on Friday. Bangalore and other parts of Karnataka now have Section 144 imposed which prohibits an assembly of five or more people holding public meetings to avoid violence. Section 144 had already been imposed in Mangaluru from 9 pm on Wednesday night until Friday midnight. Did you know a New Railway Station At Ayodhya To Be A Look-Alike Of Ram Mandir?
Clearly we have our priorities straight.