NEW DELHI: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has delayed his official trip to India which was scheduled on Sunday due to protests over a controversial citizenship law.
Shinzo Abe canceled a trip to Assam that was scheduled for Sunday to highlight Japan’s aid and development work in the state.
In this regard, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said, “Both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future.”
Read more: India passes controversial anti-Muslim citizenship law
Japan has stepped up infrastructure development work in Assam in recent years, which the two sides were expected to highlight during the summit.
Earlier violent clashes erupted in New Delhi between police and hundreds of university students over the law of new citizenship. A day after two people were shot dead in widespread protests in the northeastern state of Assam.
Police fired tear gas and used baton charges to disperse scores of students demonstrating at Jamia Millia Islamia university in the heart of Delhi over the law.
Read more: Indian citizenship bill step towards realisation of ‘Hindu Rashtra’: FO
ADVERTISEMENT
Protesters attacked cars in the capital, and several people were injured and taken to hospital.
The Indian government on Wednesday approved the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The law seeks to grants Indian nationality to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis, and Sikhs who fled the three countries before 2015. But thousands of protesters in the Indian state Assam said that the measure would open the region to a flood of foreign migrants.
Also read: Indian IPS officer resigns to protest against Citizenship Bill
