The ruling BJP is using brute force to try to put an end to the anti-CAA protests going on across the country. In the states where the BJP is in power, the administrations have used brutal tactics against the protestors. The police have unleashed violence on protestors and have used harsh laws to arrest them. In Assam, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi has been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Gogoi is currently under 14-day custody of the NIA. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who was arrested by the Delhi Police for leading a protest against the CAA, is also in a 14-day judicial custody.
In Uttar Pradesh, several protestors and activists have been arrested by the police. Till Thursday, the police themselves confirmed that as many as 1,113 people have been arrested from places across the state in connection with the agitations. In Karnataka also, the police arrested even the likes of historian Ramachandra Guha, and prevented them from protesting against the CAA. In UP, the police have even served a notice to the people, asking them to pay up for damage to public property. But they very conveniently ignored the damages inflicted on the public as well as private properties by the police themselves. Many of their gory acts have been caught in CCTV cameras. They are trying to intimidate protestors by asking them to pay for the damages. India is a democratic country and everyone has the right to protest peacefully. This brazen attempt, using brute force, to stop the people’s anti-CAA protests is against the democratic ethos of the nation.