Amid protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act, Bangladesh has sought postponement of two meetings with India on river management scheduled for later this week, sources said on Tuesday.

Sources said the meetings were scheduled to be held on Thursday and Friday.

They added one was joint committee meeting and another technical level meeting.  -- PTI

The Jamia Millia Islamia has filed a complaint with police in connection with the police crackdown on the campus on Sunday night.

According to the spokesperson of the university, a complaint has been sent to the SHO of Jamia Nagar police station, a copy of which has also been sent to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of southeast district.

The university's vice chancellor had on Monday said it would file a complaint against unidentified persons who had entered the campus, damaged property and harassed students.  -- PTI

The Noida Police on Tuesday said it has identified and warned around 300 people spreading rumours on social media regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and may initiate action against them including arrest.

The police in Noida and elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh have stepped up vigilance on the ground and on social media, including Facebook and Twitter, in the wake of violent protests in adjoining Delhi and in Aligarh over the new controversial citizenship law.

"Around 300 people have been identified and issued warnings over spreading rumours online related to the citizenship law. Some of them are repeat offenders and on police radar. Action will be initiated against them and they can be arrested also depending on our probe," Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Vaibhav Krishna told PTI.

The police has also cautioned the citizens, including people related with political outfits, against taking the law into their hands in any way.

'All Bangladeshi intruders and Rohingya Muslims living in any part of Noida will be identified by the BJP's Yuva Morcha and the information given to the government,' a Twitter user identifying himself as district unit head of the Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing posted.

Reacting sharply to the post, the SSP tweeted, 'Be careful, police will ensure action if you take the law into your hands. Your irresponsible behaviour can lead to law and order situation. Do not interfere in police's work.'

Earlier on Tuesday, the district administration and the police reached out to prominent members of the Muslim community here in a bid to quell their apprehensions regarding the Citizenship Amendment law, which has attracted severe criticism from sections of the society.

"The people have been told not to worry or panic about anything. If they have any problems they can approach the administration or the police. We are ensuring that no disturbance to public order is caused because of the incidents happening around. Our priority is development work," District Magistrate B N Singh told PTI.

A section of the students of the Madras Universtiy continued their protest for the second day on Tuesday against the amendment to the Citizenship Act by staying put inside the Marina campus in Chennai, as police entered the premises.

The protesters sat on the sprawling campus, which is just opposite the Marina beach, seeking withdrawal of the amendment and raised slogans against the amendment to the Citizenship Act.

Police personnel, meanwhile, arrived inside the varsity's campus.

The Madras University is one of the oldest in the country and students of the varsity are among others in Tamil Nadu who have been protesting against the CAA.  -- PTI

IMAGE: Students of Madras University during a silent protest against the passing of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), at the university campus in Chennai, on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI Photo

As many as 21 people, including 12 policemen and six civilians, were injured in violence that erupted during a protest against the amended Citizenship Act in Delhi's Seelampur on Tuesday, police said.

According to a police officer, two first information reports have also been registered at Seelampur and Jafrabad police stations in connection with the violence.

Three personnel of Rapid Action Force (RAF) were injured, the officer said.

Angry protestors torched several motor bikes, pelted stones at police personnel and damaged buses and a police booth in Northeast Delhi's Seelampur area.  -- PTI

An advisor to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the country will take back any citizen of the neighbouring nation staying in India illegally, if evidence is provided.

The issue of the amended Citizenship Act is an internal matter of India, Advisor to Hasina on international affairs, Gauhar Rizvi, said in Kolkata.

"We will take back any Bangladeshi citizen staying in India illegally. But India has to prove that. This is a standard procedure. I think there is no need to build up an issue on this," Rizvi told reporters.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen had on Sunday said his country has requested India to provide a list of any Bangladesh nationals living illegally in the country and it will allow them to return.

Rizvi said Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists co-exist peacefully in Bangladesh.

On the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Rizvi said, "Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured us that there is no reason for Bangladesh to worry."

He said Bangladesh has set an example for being a pluralistic, secular and democratic society.

"We have never deviated from that commitment", the senior official said.

Bangladesh would not have been liberated in 1971 without India's assistance, said Rizvi who is in the city on the occasion of the Vijay Diwas.

The Vijay Diwas marks the Indian military's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pak war and the creation of Bangladesh.

Rizvi said, "Our friendship is continuing for the past 50 years. India is always with us, will be in future also."

There are very few examples in the world where people of one nation had shed blood for another country's liberation, he said.  -- PTI

The amended Citizenship Act has nothing to do with the proposed nation-wide National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Tuesday.

He also said that the Act does not take away the citizenship of an Indian national of any religion.

"The Citizenship (Amendment) Act has nothing to do with the NRC (CAA ka koi matlab nahin hai NRC se)," Prasad said at an Aaj Tak event.

He said when the draft of the proposed law on pan-India implementation of the NRC is prepared, it would be discussed and it will come before the people.

"There is no meaning in linking the NRC with the CAA," he said responding to a question on fears that the amended citizenship law could be the prelude to the NRC exercise and minorities may get targeted.

Responding to another question, the law minister said dialogue is the essence of democracy and those agitating against the amendments in the Act would be told that it does not hurt the interests of Indian citizens, including those from the minority communities.

"I appeal for peace to those who are protesting. But we can't make those understand who jump into any issue just to criticise (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji... Leftists, Maoists have to criticise Modi come what may," Prasad said.  -- PTI

A new Bharatiya Janata Party national president is expected to take over in February next year, capping a months-long process of organisational elections, in which the party is likely to have new chiefs in many states.

A senior party leader said state presidents who were recently appointed, as in Bihar, Rajasthan and Karnataka, are unlikely to be replaced, while the exercise to elect new party chiefs in other states will start from January 15, when 'Uttarayan', considered an auspicious Hindu period, begins.

He indicated that the new state chiefs will be elected by consensus, as has been the convention in the party.

As per the party's constitution, organisational elections should be completed in more than half of the total number of states before a national president is elected.

A meeting of the BJP national council is expected in the latter half of February where either a new national president will be elected or his appointment ratified if he or she has already been named by its parliamentary board, the party's apex decision-making body.

After BJP president Amit Shah joined the Cabinet of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government when it came to power, the party appointed senior leader J P Nadda as its working president.

With the party having the norm of 'one person one post', it is believed that Shah may make way for Nadda as the BJP president following the completion of organisational polls.  -- PTI

Opposition leaders including Congress president Sonia Gandhi met President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday to lodge their protest over police action against students over the Citizenship Amendment Act and said the protests against the legislation were spreading throughout the country.

Talking to media persons after meeting the President, Sonia said they had sought his intervention against the legislation.

"All of us representatives of different parties, 12 of them, met the President to seek his intervention over the situation," she said.

She accused the Centre of 'suppressing voice of people'.

The Congress chief said the Bharatiya Janata Party and Modi government 'seems to have no compunction when it comes to shutting down people's voices and implement legislation which does not seem to be acceptable to us and the people in the democracy'.

She said apart from protests in Northeast, the protests were being held in different parts of the country and may spread further.

"It is a very serious situation," she said.

The Congress chief said they were 'anguished by the manner the police had dealt with a peaceful demonstration'.

"In Delhi, police entered Jamia Millia Islamia University's women hostel and dragged students out. They mercilessly beat up other students as well who were demonstrating there. It is their democratic right to protest," she said. -- ANI

Four more metro stations that were closed in view of a violent protest against the amended Citizenship Act in Seelampur on Tuesday were opened.

'All entry & exit gates of Welcome, Gokulpuri, Johri Enclave and Shiv Vihar are open,' the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted.

Earlier, all entry and exit gates at Seelampur metro station, which were closed in view of violence, were opened.

'All entry & exit gates of Seelampur are open,' the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted.

Entry and exit gates at seven metro stations in northeast Delhi were closed on Tuesday in view of the violent protest against the amended citizenship law in the Seelampur area.  -- PTI

Traffic movement between Daryaganj and Rajghat in New Delhi was closed due to a demonstration, police said.

'Traffic movement is closed from Daryaganj to Raj Ghat (both carriageways) due to demonstration. Traffic is diverted from Delhi Gate, Nishad Raj Marg, ITO towards Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,' the Delhi Traffic Police tweeted. -- PTI

Entry and exit gates at seven metro stations in northeast Delhi were closed on Tuesday in view of a violent protest against the amended citizenship law in the Seelampur area.

'Entry & exit gates of Johri Enclave and Shiv Vihar are closed. Trains will not be halting at these stations,' Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted.

Both the stations are on Pink Line.

Earlier DMRC closed Welcome, Jaffrabad, Maujpur-Babarpur and Gokulpuri metro stations of the Pink Line and Seelampur of Red Line.       

Angry protesters demanding scraping of citizenship amendment law clashed with police, pelted stones at them and damaged several buses in Northeast Delhi's Seelampur area.

Police resorted to baton charges and fired teargas shells on the protesters who were marching from Seelampur towards Jafrabad.  -- PTI

Shah also challenged the people, who are against the new law, to oppose the legislation as much as they can. "Come what may, the Modi government will ensure that these refugees get Indian citizenship and live as Indians with honour," he said at an event here. -- PTI

In a joint statement, the students from prominent US universities, including Harvard University, Columbia University, and University of Michigan, among others, deemed the police crackdown as "a gross violation of human rights under the Constitution of India and International Human Rights Law" and expressed "full solidarity" with the students protesting against, what they have described as, the "unlawful and unconstitutional" CAA.

Several students and cops were injured at the Jamia Nagar area in New Delhi on Sunday night during protests against the CAA.

"By every account, it appears that police and paramilitary, both at Jamia Milia Islamia University, and at Aligarh Muslim University, have used violence and pursued unlawful and reckless tactics against student protestors in violation of protections under the Constitution of India and International Human Rights law, " the statement read.

"The entry of police and paramilitary into University premises, indiscriminate attacks within the premises of the University including releasing tear gas in libraries, and brutal use of force against civilians is a blatant violation of the law and can only shock the conscience of any democratic society," it added.

The students also condemned the use of violence against protestors in Assam which resulted in the death of five people, including two minor boys.

"This combined with the unlawful denial of access to the internet in the state has completely blocked news reports of events on the ground, including the ability of the protesters to represent their demands and report unlawful police action.In the statement, the students demanded "an immediate, independent, and robust investigation into the abuse of power by the Delhi Police, Uttar Pradesh Police, and the Central Reserve Police Force, as well as called upon officers of the "Indian Police and Administrative Services to fulfil their duty to uphold the Constitution of India, and to resist any political demand to act in abuse of the powers that have been conferred upon them."  -- ANI

Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi had tweeted about Delhi Police arresting 10 people for violence and arson near the varsity on Sunday and that none of them were students of Jamia. 

"If the students of Jamia were not involved in arson and violence, then a LOT of questions need to be answered by @DelhiPolice about why they entered the Jamia campus, and indulged in such brutality towards students," she said. Responding to her tweet, Sisodia said, "Will the BJP now answer why the students were lathicharged without any reason? Why did the police barge inside hostels and libraries and thrash boys and girls?"

The trouble began on Sunday in south Delhi's New Friends Colony after violence erupted during a protest by students of Jamia Millia Islamia against the amended Citizenship Act on Sunday evening.

Protestors torched four public buses, two police vehicles, 100 private vehicles and 10 motorcycles as they clashed with police. Later police entered the Jamia campus and allegedly beat up the students. -- PTI

Earlier DMRC closed Welcome, Jaffrabad and Maujpur-Babarpur metro stations. Angry protesters demanding scraping of citizenship amendment law clashed with police, pelted stones at them and damaged several buses in Northeast Delhi's Seelampur area. Police resorted to baton charges and fired teargas shells on the protesters who were marching from Seelampur towards Jafrabad. -- PTI

Police resorted to baton charges and fired tear gas shells on the protesters who were marching from Seelampur towards Jafrabad. Clashes erupted between police and protesters at Seelampur Chowk when the security personnel tried to stop them from moving ahead. 

According to a senior police officer, the protest began at around 12 pm. The protesters raised slogans against the new law as well as the National Register of Citizens. The clashes erupted two days after violence broke out in the New Friends area in South Delhi. -- PTI

"Indian Constitution is our only holy book. I appeal to youth in colleges to debate our policies, protest democratically. We will listen to you. But some parties, urban Naxals, are firing off your shoulders.  

"Congress and its allies are creating an atmosphere of lies to scare Indian Muslims. They're spreading violence. 

"The Citizenship Amendment Act neither takes away the rights of an Indian nor harms him in any manner. The law we have made is for people fleeing three nations (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh) due to religious persecution; It's for those who are miserable and can't go back"

Chief Justice of India, SA Bodbe, recused himself from hearing the review petition filed by Akshay Kumar Singh one of the four convicts sentenced to death for the 2012 gang-rape and murder of Nirbhaya, today. The SC bench which heard the petition comprised of Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan. A new bench will now hear the case on tomorrow. 

Akshay had moved the apex court as a last-ditch effort to escape the gallows after the Supreme Court put all the four adult convicts in the case on death row in 2017. Kumar was the last to file a review petition on the death penalty after the SC had already rejected the pleas by convicts Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh. The four convicts are currently lodged in Tihar Jail.

Nirbhayas mother had also approached the Patiala House Court for a hearing of her plea to hang the convicts at the earliest and the court had given her a date of December 18 for the same. 

Also read: The mercy petition filed by Akshay Kumar 

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut yesterday, slammed the central government for blaming the opposition parties for protests happening across the country over Citizenship (Amendment) Act and said that an all-party meeting must be called immediately to discuss the issue.

Referring to students' protest over CAA, Raut said that both the government should listen and understand the concerns of the students.The Shiv Sena leader also said that the "whole country is burning and this is not limited to Delhi."

Raut also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call an all-party meeting to discuss the CAA. Raut also commented over Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remark where Shah had said that they may bring some change in the law.

"This means that there are some mistakes in this law", Shiv Sena leader asserted.

"If this would have been done before then there would have been no violence," he added.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had said at a Jharkhand rally that the "protesters could be identified by their clothes", she asserted that "miscreants cannot be differentiated on the basis of their attire". 

Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, claimed that the Centre has stopped railway services in the state over "one or two minor incidents" of violence.

"Owing to one or two small incidents, the Centre has stopped railways services in Bengal. It is the duty of the Railway Protection Force personnel to protect railway property, yet we provided them support. 

"We have arrested more than 600 people (for creating trouble). I would request the railways and the central government to resume services," she said here at a protest rally over the amended Citizenship Act. Condemning the violence at Jamia Millia University in Delhi, the CM said the "torture meted out to the students at the varsity was unprecedented". 

Alleging that the BJP was instigating violence in the country, she said the Citizenship (Amemdment) Bill was passed in a hurry in Parliament. "The BJP didn't give opposition parties time to think and discuss the bill. It sought its passage in a hurry," she added. -- PTI

Image: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with TMC MPs Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan ahead of the protest march from Jadavpur to Jodu Babu's Bazar. The CM says, "Our slogan is 'No CAB, No NRC in Bengal'. 

Delhi's Tis Hazari Court adjourns the arguments on quantum of punishment for 20th December and also seeks the copy of affidavit of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar filed during 2017 in Election Commission.

The agency also sought adequate monetary compensation for the rape survivor. The court had on Monday convicted Sengar for rape under the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act for offence by a public servant committing penetrative sexual assault against a child. -- PTI

Dhankar, who visited the state Assembly, told reporters that the state government and the governor's office must work in tandem and partnership for welfare of the state. 

Noting that West Bengal has a great contribution in making democracy a success, the governor said, "It is time to leave behind the incident that dented the fair name of West Bengal Assembly where doors were closed for the head of the state."

Dhankar, who has had several run-ins with the state government, said the West Bengal Assembly has a unique tradition and history. The governor visited the council chamber and the Assembly library. Speaker Biman Banerjee was not present as he is currently not in the city. The governor said he was pleased with the hospitality extended to him by the Assembly staff. -- PTI

The university had turned into a battlefield on Sunday as police entered the campus and also used force, following protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, that led to violence and arson in which four DTC buses, 100 private vehicles and 10 police bikes were damaged. 

"I was outside central library around 7.30 pm on Sunday when I saw policemen in the campus. I was hit on the leg, chest and other parts," said Hanzala, a student of English at JMI, at a press conference. Nadim from a human rights group, United Against Hate, also alleged that police beat up students in Jamia library. 

"Most students thrashed and detained by police were from Jamia Millia library," he alleged. An advocate, Fawaj Shaheen, said students were also beaten up at Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar pradesh where protests broke out against the police action in Delhi.

"The right hand of an AMU student was amputated after he was hit by a tear gas shell. RAF personnel abused and humiliated students," he alleged. Students who were injured refused to identify themselves fearing NSA will be imposed on them, he further alleged. -- PTI

The special court -- comprising Justice Seth, Justice Nazar Akbar of the Sindh High Court and Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court --announced the verdict it had reserved on November 19, the Dawn newspaper reported. PTI

Replying to a query on the BJP president's statement outside the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhawan here, Raut told reporters, "Amit Shah has said it right that the Ram temple will surely will be seen touching the sky. But, the foundation work for the temple has been done by the Shiv Sena." 

Asked further that if this means the credit for the Ram temple goes to the BJP, the Rajya Sabha member said, "No, the credit goes to lakhs and crores of karsevaks, including the VHP, sadhus, saints, BJP workers, the credit goes to all, not just one party."

The Delhi police today reiterated that the anti-CAA protests at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi were in fact pre-planned. 

Kumar Gyanesh, Additional DCP (South East) said, "I saw it. Some protesters were carrying wet blankets and putting them on tear gas shells to minimize their impact. 

"It did not seem to be spontaneous but well planned. 

"Protesters had petrol bombs, which were hurled at us. These things do not happen on the spot, it shows that it was a conspiracy. An investigation is underway." 

The posters, with large pictures of the Chief Minister, put up by unknown persons read, "Silent on #CAB-NRC... Missing... Watch this face with attention, he has neither been seen nor heard... Bihar will forever be indebted to the person who finds him."

Another such poster read, "Dumb, Deaf and blind Chief Minister... Missing, Missing, Missing."Kumar had come under attack from the Rashtriya Janata Dal and also faced stiff opposition from within the Janata Dal-United, over his party MPs supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act, in the Parliament.

Earlier, JDU vice president Prashant Kishor, who publicly took a stand contrary to that of his party on the citizenship law, had offered his resignation to Kumar, who is JD-U chief, on Saturday which was not accepted by the leadership.

Prashant Kishor, who has aired his concerns over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, also deleted the party designation from his bio on Twitter.

After meeting the JDU chief, however, Kishor had said: "Nitish Kumar said that we are not in favour of the National Register of Citizens. There is no problem with the CAA, but it becomes discriminatory when combined with the NRC."

A day before the CAB was passed in Rajya Sabha on December 11, Kishor had asked his party to reconsider its decision to support the Bill in Parliament.After getting the nod of the Rajya Sabha, the CAB became an Act on December 12 with the assent of President Ram Nath Kovind. -- ANI

"I do not know about it (the delegation's meeting). Shiv Sena is not part of this delegation," Raut told ANI.

"It was expected that after implementing the citizenship law, there will be riots in parts of India. The steps that are being taken are not good for the country," he added.

The Shiv Sena leader also said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide about the implementation of CAA in the state during the Cabinet meeting.

On Monday, senior Congress leader AK Antony had said that opposition leaders will meet the President under the leadership of party chief Sonia Gandhi to lodge their protest against the government over alleged police action against students of the Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University who were protesting against CAA.Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several senior party leaders held a sit-in protest at India Gate in solidarity with the students.

Several students and police personnel had sustained injuries in a protest in Jamia Nagar area yesterday. The protesters had set DTC buses on fire near Bharat Nagar area after demonstrations turned violent. They also vandalised a fire tender that was sent to douse the fire, injuring two firemen inside the vehicle. -- ANI

The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde, which said, "We will take care of the violence".

The bench told advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the petitioner in the case, that it cannot assume the jurisdiction for anything happening all over the country as the situation and facts may be different.

"We are not saying that the issue raised by you is not important," the bench said, adding, "You can try your luck tomorrow". Upadhyay told the bench that trains were set ablaze during the protest in West Bengal and a CBI or SIT probe was needed to find out the real conspirator who was behind the violent protests. 

The top court is scheduled to hear during the day a batch of petitions which have raised the issue of alleged police atrocities against students at Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia here during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. -- PTI

The officials also said that 10 persons with criminal background have been detained in connection with the protests and more anti-social elements are being tracked. 

Braving freezing cold, they took out small marches outside the varsity, shouting slogans against the government. They, however, made sure the movement of traffic was not affected. A few students said though many of their classmates have gone back home, they have decided to stay put and fight till the amendments in the Citizenship Act are withdrawn. 

This is the second consecutive day of peaceful protests after the demonstration on Sunday turned violent. On Monday, thousands of students took to the streets demanding a probe into the use of teargas on Sunday inside the Jamia university's library as well as police entering the campus without permission from university authorities. 

Scores of protesters including Jamia students, policemen and locals were injured, four DTC buses were torched and over 100 private vehicles and 10 police bikes were also damaged in the violence and arson that took place during the protest on Sunday. 

Women from all age groups, including grandmothers and sisters of students, were seen taking the lead in the protest on Monday, vowing to continue the fight for justice till their "last breath". Residents and parents of students from nearby areas came out in numbers to support them. -- PTI

Image: Many students headed home from Jamia Millia Islamia as the university is closed till January 5 following the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. 

Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Director General of Police, confirmed that four people have been killed in police action. "The situation had become such that the police had to fire in order to save more people and property. 136 cases have been registered so far and 190 protesters have been arrested. These were not normal democratic protesters but people who indulged in violence, some conspirators have also been arrested, including some major leaders from various organizations," the DGP said. 

Assam witnessed violent protests with three rail stations, a post office, a bank, a bus terminus, shops, dozens of vehicles and many other public properties being set ablaze or damaged by the protesters.  PTI reports that five persons have lost their lives since Wednesday.

Schools have announced their annual results following which winter vacations have begun in most of the educational institutions. Mobile internet remained shut for another 48 hours beginning from 5 pm on Monday even as mobile messaging services were relaxed to 5 messages per number that includes OTP services, a senior Home department official said. No report of violence was reported since Monday, the official said. -- PTI

The 30-share index rose 203.40 points or 0.50 per cent to 41,142.12 in morning session. Similarly, the broader Nifty was trading 55.65 points or 0.46 per cent higher at 12,109.05.

Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack rising up to 1.85 per cent, followed by Vedanta, ITC, Yes Bank, Infosys, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and SBI. 

On the other hand, ONGC was the top loser, shedding up to 0.64 per cent. PowerGrid, NTPC and Bajaj Auto were also trading in the red. In the previous session, the 30-share gauge ended 70.99 points or 0.17 per cent down at 40,938.72, while the Nifty finished 32.75 points or 0.27 per cent lower at 12,053.95. -- PTI

Image: Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack

The internet services were temporarily suspended in some districts of West Bengal as a precautionary measure amid protests against the new citizenship law.

The internet was suspended in some parts of the districts of Uttar Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas (Basirhat and Barasat subdivisions) and South 24 Parganas (Baruipur and Canning subdivisions).

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday also spearheaded a huge protest march in Kolkata against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The citizenship law seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. -- ANI

Women from all age groups, including grandmothers and sisters of Jamia Millia Islamia students, took the lead in the protests yesterday against the alleged police excesses and the amended Citizenship Act, vowing to continue the fight for justice till their "last breath". A few women, in their 60s, almost limped to the protest site in Delhi, while some accompanied their family members and classmates. 

Jamia Millia Islamia Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar on Monday said the university will not tolerate police presence on campus as she demanded a high-level inquiry into the crackdown on students.

"Police entered the campus without permission. We will not tolerate police presence on campus. They scared our students with police brutality," Najma Akhtar said at a press conference. "We will file FIR on the damage of property and police action on students, we want high-level inquiry. I will present facts to the HRD Minister," she said, yesterday.

The curfew imposed in Guwahati on December 11 in the wake of protests against the citizenship law was lifted on Tuesday, officials said.

Shops and business establishments were open in the city, and buses, cars and two-wheelers were plying.

The decision to lift the curfew in Guwahati was taken at a law and order review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday.

"It has been decided to lift the curfew completely in Guwahati from 6 am tomorrow," an official statement had said.

However, the statement did not mention anything about resumption of mobile internet services.

In Dibrugarh, the curfew has been relaxed for 14 hours from 6 am on Tuesday, they said.

Assam witnessed violent protests with three rail stations, a post office, a bank, a bus terminus, shops, dozens of vehicles and many other public properties being set ablaze or damaged by the protesters.

Five persons had lost their lives since Wednesday. -- PTI  

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 has "no clarity" in it.

"The questions we asked in Lok Sabha on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 were not answered. There is no clarity on the Citizenship Act," Shiv Sena chief Thackeray said at an event in Nagpur.

The CAA seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and have arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.

Speaking at the event, Thackeray further said that there is no clarity regarding how many people will come to our country and from where they will come.

 He further questioned where these people will stay after coming to India. -- ANI

India has slipped four places to rank 112th globally in terms of gender gap amid widening disparity in terms of women's health and survival and economic participation -- the two areas where the country is now ranked in the bottom-five, an annual survey showed on Tuesday.

   

While Iceland remains the world's most gender-neutral country, India has moved down the ladder from its 108th position last year on the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report to rank below countries like China (106th), Sri Lanka (102nd), Nepal (101st), Brazil (92nd), Indonesia (85th) and Bangladesh (50th).

 

Yemen is ranked the worst (153rd), while Iraq is 152nd and Pakistan 151st.

 

"The time it will take to close the gender gap narrowed to 99.5 years in 2019. While an improvement on 2018 - when the gap was calculated to take 108 years to close -- it still means parity between men and women across health, education, work and politics will take more than a lifetime to achieve," the WEF said.

 

Geneva-based WEF, an international organisation for public-private cooperation, said this year's improvement can largely be ascribed to a significant increase in the number of women in politics.

 

The political gender gap will take 95 years to close, compared to 107 years last year. Worldwide, women now hold 25.2 per cent of parliamentary lower-house seats and 21.2 per cent of ministerial positions, compared to 24.1 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively last year.

 

However, the economic opportunity gap has worsened, widening to 257 years, compared to 202 years last year. The report said one of the greatest challenges to closing this gap is women's under-representation in emerging roles, such as cloud computing, engineering and data and AI.

 

The WEF had published its first gender gap report in 2006, when India was ranked relatively higher at 98th place.

 

Since then, India's rank has worsened on three of four metrics used for the overall ranking. While India has improved to 18th place on political empowerment, it has slipped to 150th on health and survival, to 149th in terms of economic participation and opportunity and to 112th place for educational attainment.

 

The WEF said economic opportunities for women are extremely limited in India (35.4 per cent), Pakistan (32.7 per cent), Yemen (27.3 per cent), Syria (24.9 per cent)  and Iraq (22.7 per cent).

If women ran every country in the world there would be a general improvement in living standards and outcomes, former US President Barack Obama has said.

Speaking in Singapore, he said women aren't perfect, but are "indisputably better" than men.

He said most of the problems in the world came from old people, mostly men, holding onto positions of power.

He also spoke about political polarisation and the use of social media to spread falsehoods.

Obama said while in office he had mused what a world run by women would look like.

"Now women, I just want you to know; you are not perfect, but what I can say pretty indisputably is that you're better than us [men].

"I'm absolutely confident that for two years if every nation on earth was run by women, you would see a significant improvement across the board on just about everything... living standards and outcomes."