A door-to-door campaign organised in Hubballi by various organisations, including Congress members, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was converted into a demonstration after the police denied permission to hold it.
The organisers, led by Congress leader Ashfaq Kumtakar, Babajan Mudhol, activist Siddu Teji and others, had planned to launch a campaign against CAA and NRC and wanted to paste stickers outside houses in Ganeshpet locality. The protesters had come armed with stickers with the words “No CAA, No NRC”. However, the police did not allow them to go ahead with the campaign or distribute the stickers.
Addressing the protesters, the speakers said the Centre was trying to divide the country on religious lines. They said with CAA, the burden of proving one’s citizenship will fall on citizens. They said the Union government was trying to divert the attention of the public from real issues such as unemployment and economic slowdown.
The protesters subsequently staged a demonstration by the roadside. They also urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah not to visit Hubballi for his pro-CAA rally, scheduled on Saturday, and raised slogans against him.
A few days ago, the District Congress Committee had announced that it planned to launch a counter-campaign and stage a black flag protest against Mr. Shah’s proposed visit. DCC leaders had accused the Centre of meting out stepmotherly treatment towards Karnataka
