IMPHAL: At least eight persons, including five students, were injured after agitators protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill clashed with police here on Tuesday afternoon. The protesters attempted to march towards the Raj Bhavan in Imphal and were stopped by the police, who threw tear-gas shells and mock bombs to disperse them. One of the injured protesters had to be hospitalised.Another group of anti-bill protesters , including students, also clashed with the police at Bir Tikendrajit Road here in Imphal on Tuesday.Amid the protests, chief minister N Biren Singh on Wednesday said his government will oppose the bill unless a clause is included to protect the indigenous people of the state. “Our government’s stand is very clear. We will oppose the bill until and unless a clause is inserted to protect the indigenous people of the state,” Biren said on the sidelines of inaugurating development projects in Chandel district.Biren added the Centre should either add this clause or assent to the Manipur People’s Bill, which aims to protect the indigenous people and was passed by the state assembly in July last year. As earlier decided by the state cabinet on last Thursday, Biren had on Saturday urged Union home minister Rajnath Singh to exclude Manipur from the ambit of the citizenship bill and ensure Presidential assent for the Manipur People’s Bill.Protests against the citizenship bill has hotted up across Manipur this week. Joining the campaign against the bill, nine political parties have demanded that the state government should convene a special assembly session to discuss the bill. The nine parties that raised this demand are CPI, CPM, NCP, JD (S), RSP, FB, AAP, PRJA and BSP. The decision to press the government for a special assembly session was taken at a joint convention at Gandhi Memorial Hall in Imphal on Tuesday. The parties want the assembly session to be convened to chalk out strategies to prevent the bill from being passed in the Rajya Sabha.Leaders of these parties strongly condemned the passing of bill in the Lok Sabha amidst strong opposition from various political parties and protests across the northeast. CPI Manipur state council secretariat member and former legislator M Nara said the bill is unconstitutional because of its religious bias and it undermines the secular spirit of the country.Representatives of the nine parties also brought out a short rally against the bill in Imphal.On Monday, the regional Manipur People’s Party (MPP) had taken out a short rally in Imphal to protest against the bill. The protesters were stopped by the police near Johnstone Higher Secondary School. MPP president O Jugindro said they would extend all-out efforts to stop the bill from being passed in the Rajya Sabha.Similar protests against the bill were held by the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) and Meira Pabis (women’s groups) on Monday. Under the aegis of the JCILPS, which has been vocal against illegal immigration in the state, a large number of people staged sit-ins at various parts of the capital, including Kongba Bazaar.Meira Paibi groups of Wangoi and its surrounding areas, under the supervision of six prominent student bodies of the state, also staged a protest demonstration against the bill at Wangoi Keithel community hall in Imphal West. The Democratic people’s Front and Ching Tam Development Association, Manipur also demonstrated against the bill at Wabagai Lamkai Bazaar in Kakching district Meanwhile, the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur has threatened to call a 24-hour general strike from the midnight of January 21 if the state government fails to send recommendations to the Centre by Friday for according ST status to the Meitei community.

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