CAA notification: Security beefed up in communally sensitive areas of UP

Lucknow: Alert was sounded in Uttar Pradesh after the centre notified the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Monday and security forces conducted flag marches in several sensitive towns as a precautionary measure.

According to the police sources here, security was beefed up in communally sensitive towns including Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Saharanpur, Bijnore, Sambhal, and others areas and a strict vigil was being maintained.

The state capital of Lucknow had witnessed large scale protests, especially by the Muslim women, against the CAA in 2020.

''We are keeping a close watch on the situation and are committed to maintaining law and order...those against the CAA can register their protest on a proper forum,'' a senior police official said in Lucknow.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed the CAA notification and termed it 'historic'. ''It will pave the way for the oppressed minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to live a life with dignity and respect,'' Adityanath said in a post on 'X' (formerly Twitter).

The opposition leaders, however, criticised the BJP led NDA government for notifying the CAA and said that it would have been better to remove the apprehensions regarding the Act before implementing the same.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said that there was no need for the CAA at a time when lakhs of people left the country and went abroad in search of their bread and butter.

He said that the people of the country had 'understood' the 'game' being played by the BJP ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls and would give it a befitting reply in the elections.

Muslim religious scholars, however, remained cautious in their reactions. Senior Muslim cleric and member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, an apex body of the Muslims in the country, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangimahali said that the Board would examine the notification before deciding to challenge in the court.