Thousands of Students of Pune's Fergusson College Take Out Rally to Protest Against CAA, NRC

Pune: Students of the Fergusson College in Maharashtra's Pune city took out a rally on the campus on Tuesday and held a signature campaign against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

They had earlier sought permission from Pune police to stage a protest and conduct a signature campaign at the main gate of the college, but it was denied, Santosh Rasve, a student from the college, said.

"We once again approached the police to allow us to hold the protest on Tuesday morning, but today also they refused us the permission," he said.

After the denial of permission, the students took out a "peaceful" rally inside the college and held a signature campaign against the Citizenship Act and NRC, he said.

A senior official at Deccan Gymkhana police station said students were denied permission to hold the protest in order to prevent any law and order problem.

The amended citizenship law has triggered protests in various parts of the country, especially in Assam, West Bengal and Delhi where agitations have taken a violent turn.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the NRC will be implemented across the country.

On Monday, a large number of students in parts of Maharashtra poured onto the streets to denounce the police action against students of the Jamia Millia Islamia and AMU protesting against the new Citizenship Act.

Students of Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), the University of Mumbai, Aurangabad's Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) staged protests in solidarity with their counterparts at the Jamia Millia Islamia and AMU.

A dozen students were detained at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad and later released, police earlier said.

The Delhi-based Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university turned into a battlefield on Sunday as police entered the campus and also used force following protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which led to violence and arson.

The first to join the movement against the violence in JMI were students from the Aligarh University University (AMU) where there were clashes with the police late Sunday night in which at least 60 students were injured.