Just a day before U.S. President Donald Trump began his two-day visit to India, Indian police used tear gas to disperse crowds protesting a new citizenship law in the Indian capital, New Delhi.
The Hindustan Times reported on Feb. 23 that hundreds of pro-law opponents clashed with opponents of the new law during a recent protest that erupted on Sunday, and the two groups threw stones at each other in the Maujpur area, northeast of the city, according to television footage.
Another protest erupted on Sunday in the northern Indian city of Aligarh, where protesters threw stones at police, India's state administrators said.
India's Citizenship Amendment Act, which paved the way for non-Muslims from neighboring Muslim-majority countries to obtain citizenship, has sparked weeks of violent protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
The law, seen by opponents as discriminatory against Muslims, deepens fears that the Modi government is undermining India's secular traditions.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has already departed for India on Sunday, expects "millions of people" to greet him during a lightning visit to India. Leaving the White House on his first visit to India, Trump said, "I'm looking forward to being with the people of India, we're going to have thousands of people, and I heard it's going to be a big event." ”