Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi branded the damage to public property in Uttar Pradesh during the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act as unfortunate and asked the guilty in this matter to introspect if there chosen path was right.
Stressing on the fact that the rights and duties of citizens go hand in hand, Mr. Modi emphasised that while getting a safe environment was the right of a citizen, it “is the duty of every citizen” to honour the work of the police responsible for security.
“In Uttar Pradesh, some people, in the name of protests, indulged in violence, damaged government property … sitting at home they should ask themselves, was their path right? All that was torched and destroyed, was it not going to come to the use of their children,” Mr. Modi asked.
Mr. Modi was addressing the public after he unveiled a statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth anniversary at the Lok Bhavan in Lucknow.
Mr. Modi’s statement against vandalism and arson in Uttar Pradesh came some days after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said his government would “take revenge” on those involved in the violence in Lucknow and seize and auction their property as compensation for damage to public property.
The State government was quick to move off the blocks in this case and have already started issuing notices to such people and formed a four-member panel in Lucknow to estimate the damages. Over 925 persons have been arrested and about 5,500 detained across Uttar Pradesh for protests against the CAA.
Violent protests have taken over the State and that has led to the death of at least 18 persons and damage to public and private property, including that of media personnel.
