Bhim Army chief Azad and 20 others arrested for arson

A large number of police personnel had stayed put near Delhi's Jama Masjid, waiting for him to come outside as several people gathered there. Cops had been persuading him to come outside the mosque since Friday

New Delhi: Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad was detained by police outside the Jama Masjid early Saturday, after he played hide and seek with security personnel for several hours.On Friday evening, after security personnel tried to detain him during a march led by his Bhim Army against the new citizenship law from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar, Azad surfaced inside the mosque. He had given the Delhi police a slip to reach the mosque.

"We have to make sacrifices so that the legislation is taken back. We do not support violence. We were sitting inside the mosque since Friday morning and our people were not involved in violence," he said.A large number of police personnel had stayed put near the mosque, waiting for Azad to come outside as a large number of people gathered there. Senior police officers were persuading him to come outside the mosque since Friday evening. The drama continued for several hours and Azad finally agreed around 3.15 am on Saturday.

Supporters of Bhim Army raise slogan

Azad said his group was not involved in the violence near Delhi Gate. "Policemen dressed as civilians are instigating violence in a bid to scuttle the protests," he alleged. Asked how he breached the tight security ring outside Jama Masjid, he said that he sneaked in around 1.30 pm on Friday, wearing a skull cap and wrapping himself in a long shawl. "My name is Chandra Shekhar Azad. Police cannot hold me captive. I wore a cap and a shawl and entered the masjid easily." The protest will continue till Home Minister Amit Shah resigns, he said, adding he will soon address the protesters at Jamia Millia Islamia. Azad said he had urged his supporters to carry on the protest peacefully.

BJP to launch info campaign
The BJP on Saturday announced a mass contact programme to expose opposition parties' "lies" and apprise people of the details of the amended citizenship law to assure them that it is not against existing citizens. The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by BJP working president JP Nadda and convened to formulate the party's strategy over the issue amid protests in various parts of the country against the new provision in the Citizenship Act and the proposed creation of a National Register of Citizens. Party general secretary Bhupender Yadav said that the BJP, in 10 days, would contact more than three crore families, organise a rally in every district and hold over 250 press conferences across the country to inform masses about the new law.

Protesters hold placards during a demonstration outside Jamia Milia Islamia University in New Delhi on Saturday

Normalcy in Delhi
The situation in areas hit by violence during protests against the new citizenship law is gradually returning to normal, police said on Saturday, and assured that a heavy deployment of security personnel has been made in Old Delhi and Seemapuri.

Manish Seth, secretary of Daryaganj Traders'
Association, said all shops in the area opened on Saturday morning and there's no unrest. He said police have been keeping a tight vigil. A senior police officer from Shahdara district said the situation was under control in the area. "Delhi Police have dominated the area and are conducting flag marches since Friday evening to ensure that no untoward incident is reported," he added.

TN says no to CAA
Scores of CPI-M activists tried to block trains at the railway station here but were foiled by police, as protests continued against the Citizenship Amendment Act on Saturday in parts of Tamil Nadu. Outfits affiliated to the CPI(M) including the Democratic Youth Federation of India, and Students Federation of India attempted to block trains at the MGR Central Railway Station complex. As the protesters tried to move ahead to block trains, a scuffle ensued between them and the police personnel. There was, however, no untoward
incident.

Cong to hold dharna
The Congress party will hold a dharna at Raj Ghat, on Sunday from 2 pm to 8 pm against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). The party's interim president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will also be taking part.

Malaysia PM's remarks
India rejected the comments made by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on the Citizenship Amendment Act as "factually inaccurate". The PM had said, "I am sorry to see that India, which claims to be a secular state now is taking action to deprive some Muslims of their citizenship."

A statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, "According to media reports, the Prime Minister of Malaysia has yet again remarked on a matter that is entirely internal to India. The Citizenship Amendment Act provides for citizenship through naturalisation to be fast-tracked for non-citizens who are persecuted minorities from three countries." "The Act does not impact in any manner on the status of any citizen of India, or deprive any Indian of any faith of her or his citizenship," the statement added.

1K
No. of academicians and research scholars supporting CAA

10
No. of days the govt will take to contact citizens to inform about the new law

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