AGARTALA/ITANAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh led to widespread protests from anti-citizenship bill agitators on Saturday. In a move to criticize the Centre for the citizenship bill , all political parties in Tripura, except the ruling BJP and its ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), decided to boycott Modi’s programme at Swami Vivekananda Stadium in Agartala CPM, Congress, tribal-based parties like INPT, TSF, IPFT (Tipraha) and NCT stayed away from the event. The parties released separate statements condemning the citizenship bill. In protest against the citizenship bill, three Tripura CPM MPs — Shankar Prasad Datta and Jitendra Choudhury and Jharna Das Baidya — also did not attend the programme. The MPs also claimed that they were not invited to the event.“It is a standard convention to invite all MPs for an official programme of this nature. But none of us were invited, which is a clear case of breaking away from tradition and also an insult to the people of the state,” MP Jitendra Choudhury said. “It is also true that to protest against the citizenship bill, we have taken a decision at the party-level to boycott all programmes of Modi . This is because we believe that this proposed legislation will cause great harm to the northeast and destroy the secular ethos of the Constitution,” he added.Anticipating protests, the state government had stepped up security across the state on Saturday, especially along the road from airport to the stadium. Bamboo barricades had been erected alongside the roads and a large number of paramilitary forces deployed along the stretch since Friday. Security personnel patrolled the area and movement of vehicles were also restricted at several places.In Itanagar , Congress members agitating against the citizenship bill led the protests against Modi. Student bodies of various colleges, led by Rajiv Gandhi University Students’ Union, boycotted Modi’s visit and also held protests in their respective varsity campuses.Holding black flags, placards and banners, a large number of Congress members led by Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) general secretary Chera Taya took out a rally from Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan to Indira Gandhi Park, where Modi laid the foundation to and inaugurated several projects. However, before they could proceed to Indira Gandi Park, the rally was stopped along NH-415 by a police team led by SP Sagar Singh Kalsi and ITBP personnel.Congress leaders led by Taya addressed the gathering from atop a vehicle, attacking BJP, chief minister Pema Khandu and PM Narendra Modi . “We will shed blood but never allow our motherland, which has been protected by our forefathers at the cost of many lives, to be taken over by foreigners. The citizenship bill poses a serious serious threat to Arunachal and its indigenous population,” the Congress leaders said.“Modi and Khandu, despite being protectors, have looted the state. Modi’s has come here again just two months before the elections. His only aim is to loot the state for the next five years,” they added.The protests continued till Modi left for Guwahati around 11.40am.

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