DMK protests against CAB, Udhayanidhi Stalin detained

DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin and scores of party workers were detained on Friday when they tried to stage a road blockade here while holding a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, police said. Udhayanidhi, son of DMK president M K Stalin, led the protest at Saidapet. Many activists were seen tearing copies of the Bill, which proposes citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The agitation affected vehicular movement in the area. Later, speaking to reporters, Udhayanidhi, the DMK's youth wing secretary, said the CAB was "against minorities and Sri Lankan Tamils." He warned that the protests will continue till the Bill was withdrawn. According to the CAB, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. Both Houses of Parliament had passed the bill.

Udhayanidhi Stalin and M K Stalin (Photo by DH)