ISLAMABAD – Thousands of people joined fresh rallies against a contentiouscitizenship law in India on Saturday, with 20 killed so far in the unrest.
The death toll jumped after demonstrations turned violent on Friday in themost populous state of Uttar Pradesh, leaving at least 11 dead including aneight-year-old boy, who was trampled.
On Saturday more protests began in cities including Chennai, capital ofsouthern Tamil Nadu state, and Patna in eastern Bihar state. Crowds werealso expected again in the national capital New Delhi.
Disquiet has been growing about the law, which was passed by parliament onDecember 11 and gives people from persecuted minorities from threeneighbouring countries an easier path to citizenship — but not if they areMuslim.
Critics say the law discriminates against Muslims and is part of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist agenda, a claim his politicalparty has denied.
In northern Uttar Pradesh, Muslims make up almost 20 percent of the200-million population.
The state’s police spokesman Shirish Chandra told AFP that 10 people haddied on Friday after being shot. “All of them were bullet fatalities. Weare looking into other cases,” he said.
The boy also died on Friday after 2,500 people including children joined arally in the holy city of Varanasi, district police chief PrabhakarChaudhary told AFP.
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“When the police tried to quell the protests, these persons ran for coverand a stampede-like situation emerged, in which this boy died,” Chaudharysaid.
He added that police “exercised complete restraint against the crowds thatengaged in attacking them with stones”.
The Times of India said the boy was playing in a lane with a friend whenthey were trampled by a crowd being chased by police.
The unrest has also seen one other death in Uttar Pradesh and two in thesouthwestern state of Karnataka, while in Assam state in the northeast –where the wave of protests began last week — six people have been killedand dozens injured.
On Saturday police erected barricades along Jantar Mantar in central Delhi,an avenue that has emerged in recent years as a hotspot for protests.
