Bhopal, Dec 17 (IANS): The protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the NRC have reached Madhya Pradesh with hundreds of protesters gathering at the Iqbal Maidan in the old city area here for a peaceful demonstration on Monday evening.
Students of the Motilal Vigyan Mahavidyalaya (MVM) who organised the protests, held placards demanding scrapping of the act. A large police contingent kept vigil as the protest continued. There have been no reports of any violence.
Though MVM students said in evening that they have planned the dharna in the Maidan from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the protest continued till late in the night.
"I cannot say how long this protest will continue," said Asma, who led the students from the MVM. "Maybe, it may last for the entire night, given the support of citizens."
"We are opposing the crackdown by the police on the students of Jamia Millia in Delhi and of AMU in Aligarh. We demand judicial probe and action against officials guilty of attacking the students," she said and demanded that the CAA and NRC be withdrawn.
Congress leader Abdul Nafees condemned the police action on the protesting Jamia students.
Students of different colleges in the Madhya Pradesh capital and groups of citizens staged a protest on Monday against the police crackdown on the students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for opposing the proposed implementation of the new citizenship law.
Meanwhile, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party also announced a counter protest to be held on Tuesday at all the district headquarters in the state for immediate implementation of the contentious CAA. It has announced that party leaders will meet Governor Lalji Tandon on Tuesday in this regard.
"A delegation comprising state unit BJP president Rakesh Singh, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other senior leaders will submit a memorandum to the Governor demanding implementation of the CAA," said a BJP spokesman.
A march will be taken out from Roshanpura area, he said, adding that protests will be held at all the district headquarters for immediate implementation of the new citizenship law.