Protest against Citizenship Amendment Act has spread in many parts of India. Protesters, in West Bengal, set trains on fire and blocked railway tracks. Several agitators have vandalized government properties, due to which Indian railway has suffered a huge loss.
According to the Dainik Jagran report, vandalized railway tracks and set fire to the trains in protest have resulted in over Rs 100 crore loss for Indian Railway. Cancellations of trains due to protests against CAB have cost South Eastern Railway Rs 15 crore 77 lakh. It is estimated that vandalized railway stations and trains in protest have cost Eastern Railway Rs 85 crore.
Crude oil and gas production in Assam have witnessed a drastic fall due to the ongoing state-wide protest against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, affecting supply of petrol, diesel and LPG in many districts. As a result, The two major PSU fuel producers Oil India Ltd (OIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Sunday said their gas output have totally stopped, while oil production is down by over 75 percent after protests erupted in the state.
Protesters set 15 buses on fire in Murshidabad district and Howrah district, West Bengal. Several trains and stations were ransacked. CAA protesters blocked National Highway which altogether resulted in a huge loss for the Indian railway.
Why is the protest against the bill which has nothing to do with Indian citizens? This bill is for persecuted minorities who faced persecution in neighboring countries. The bill grants citizenship to only minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, who have come to India before 2014, but Indian citizens or Muslims need not worry about the Citizenship Bill as they will not be asked to produce any document to prove citizenship.
At the same time, the amendment does not cancel the existing naturalization laws. Any person from any foreign country wants to be an Indian citizen can apply for the same under the existing laws. There is no restriction on Muslims from anywhere in the world to seek Indian citizenship under existing laws, CAB does not prohibit that. They can apply for Indian citizenship under section 6 of the Citizenship Act, which deals with citizenship by naturalization.
The CAB does not include eastern states of India, then why eastern is burning? According to estimates, the loss could reach in crores due to protests in the eastern part of India.
