Indian PM to address rally as protest deaths climb
Posted December 22, 2019 2:55 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to speak Sunday at a rally of his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party after another day of violent clashes between police and protesters demonstrating against a new citizenship law that excludes Muslims.
Twenty-three people have been killed nationwide in the protests since the law was passed in Parliament 10 days ago.
The majority of the deaths, 15 mainly young people, were killed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where 20% of the state’s 200 million people are Muslim. Police deny any wrongdoing.
Authorities have scrambled to contain the situation, banning public gatherings and blocking internet access.
A small band of BJP supporters marched in New Delhi on Sunday while a protest was called elsewhere in the capital during Modi’s rally.
The Associated Press
