PUNE: A protest was staged against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Kothrud area here on Saturday.
Elsewhere in the city, some organisations demanded that the Maharashtra government should call a special session of the legislature and pass a resolution against the CAA and NRC.
Holding placards denouncing the CAA, NRC and the National Population Register (NPR), members of the Yuvak Kranti Dal, Professional Congress, National Students Union of India, Aam Admi Party and others took part in the protest.
They demanded that the CAA, which offers citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, be scrapped.
Sandip Barve, a member of the Yuvak Kranti Dal, said the demonstration had been organised under the umbrella of `We The People Of India', an anti-CAA grouping.
The protests against the CAA will continue until the government does not repeal the act, he said.
Some 500 to 600 people took part in the protest.
Pravin Saptarshi, another protestor, claimed that some people tried to provoke the protesters by starting arguments with them over the CAA.
"We appealed our people not to get instigated by their comments and continue the protest in a peaceful manner," he said.
Several organizations under the umbrella of Mulnivasi Muslim Manch staged a sit-in against the CAA.
They demanded that the Maharashtra government should call a special session of the legislature and pass a resolution against the CAA and NRC, said Anjum Inamdar, president of the outfit.
Ladeedah Farzana, who became the face of students' protest against the CAA at Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi, said at a gathering in the city that she saluted all those who were protesting against the "draconian provisions" of the CAA.
She was addressing a conference organised by the Girls Islamic Organisation.
"The Act is against the spirit of the Indian Constitution. It undermines the Muslim community's achievements," she said.
She also demanded that jailed anti-CAA protesters in Uttar Pradesh should be released forthwith.
CAA was not the first draconian law in the country, Farzana said, citing laws such as (now repealed) Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.