Amidst violence and arson by vested interests in the garb of protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which was recently passed by Parliament, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has warned protestors that the state government will take strict action against on those who indulged in violence by seizing and auctioning the properties of such persons.
Adityanath's statement comes in the wake of protests against the amended Citizenship Act turned violent in Lucknow and other parts of the state, forcing police totake coercive action against the rioters. They burned vehicles and vandalised public property in the name of protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
“There was violence in Lucknow and Sambhal and we will deal with it strictly. All properties of those involved in damaging public assets will be seized and auctioned to compensate for the losses. They have been captured in video and CCTV footage. We will take ‘badla’ (revenge) on them,” PTIquoted him as saying.
“There is no place for violence in a democracy. In the name of opposing the CAA, the Congress, SP and Left parties have pushed the entire country to fire,” he added.
Protesters pelted stones, torched vehicles and faced tear-gas shells in Lucknow and some other parts of Uttar Pradesh as police struggled to contain the fallout of the riots. Incidents of violence were reported from Lucknow’s old city and parts of Sambhal and Mau districts.
Internet services remained suspended for at least part of the day at various places, including Aligarh, Sambhal, Mau and Azamgarh districts.
Section 144 of the CrPc had already been in force in the entire state for several days now.