Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday denounced the damage to public property in Uttar Pradesh during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and asked those who indulged “in the name of protest” to introspect if their path was right.
Stressing that the rights and duties of citizens go hand in hand, Mr. Modi said while getting a safe environment was the right of a citizen, it “is the duty of every citizen” to honour the work of the police responsible for security.
“In Uttar Pradesh, some people, in the name of protests, indulged in violence, damaged government property ... sitting at home they should ask themselves, was their path right? All that was torched and destroyed, was it not going to come to the use of their children,” Mr. Modi asked.
Unveils Vajpayee statue
The Prime Minister was addressing a gathering after unveiling a statue of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth anniversary at the Lok Bhavan in Lucknow.
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Mr. Modi’s words against vandalism and arson in Uttar Pradesh came days after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said his government would “take revenge” on those involved in the violence in Lucknow and seize and auction their property as compensation for damage to public property.
Issue of notice
The State government has already started issuing notices to such people and formed a four-member panel in Lucknow to estimate the damages. Over 925 persons have been arrested and about 5,500 detained across Uttar Pradesh for protests against the CAA.
Violent protests across the State against the CAA led to the death of at least 18 persons and damage to public and private property, including that of media personnel.
Mr. Modi appealed to those “coming under false rumours and engaging in violence and destroying government property” to remember that better roads, transport system and sewer lines were their right, but to protect and keep them clean was the duty of the citizens.
The Prime Minister asked people to think about what those who died in the violence, and the citizens and policemen who got injured must have gone through.
He said the decades-old issues of Article 370 and the Babri Masjid dispute had been resolved peacefully.
“What an old disease Article 370 was. How tough it appeared,” Mr. Modi said.
Another issue solved by the 130 crore Indians was the citizenship of lakhs of oppressed people who came to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh “to save their dharma and honour their daughters,” Mr. Modi said of the CAA.
Meanwhile, the Meerut district administration has issued notices to 517 arms licence holders and 148 persons named in the FIR to compensate for the damage to property during protests; while in Bijnor, 43 people have been issued notices to pay for the damage after being allegedly identified as vandals, as per reports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his newly unveiled statue at Lok Bhawan in Lucknow, on December 25, 2019.
“What an old disease Article 370 was. How tough it appeared,” Mr. Modi said, stressing that his government was trying to solve all the social, economic and political problems it had inherited.
Another issue solved by the 130 crore Indians was the citizenship of lakhs of oppressed people who came to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh “to save their dharma and honour their daughters,” Mr. Modi said of the CAA.
Meanwhile, the Meerut district administration has issued notices to 517 arms licence holders and 148 persons named in the FIR to compensate for the damage to property during protests; while in Bijnor, 43 people have been issued notices to pay for the damages after being allegedly identified as vandals, as per reports.
