The ongoing violent protests on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are "unfortunate and deeply distressing," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. 

In a series of tweets, Modi insisted the new act did not affect any citizen of India of any religion. He said that debate, discussion and dissent were essential parts of democracy "but never had damage to public property and disturbance of normal life been a part of our ethos." 

"I want to unequivocally assure my fellow Indians that CAA does not affect any citizen of India of any religion. No Indian has anything to worry regarding this Act. This Act is only for those who have faced years of persecution outside and have no other place to go except India," tweeted the Indian prime minister. 

Violence in New Delhi

Indian police fired tear gas and resorted to baton charges to disperse thousands of violent demonstrators who were torching vehicles in New Delhi on Sunday, as protests against the CAA continued for a fifth straight day across the country.

The new law allows non-Muslim migrants from the neighboring Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who entered India illegally, to become citizens.

Enacted on December 11, the act has stirred protests across India, but the eastern part of the country, where resentment toward Bangladeshi immigrants has persisted for decades, has been among the worst hit. Violent demonstrations in the Indian capital have been on since Friday.

Modi's government says the new law will save religious minorities such as Hindus and Christians from persecution in Muslim-majority neighboring countries by offering them a path to Indian citizenship.

But critics say the law, which does not make the same provision for Muslims, is part of the government's agenda to marginalize Muslims and weakens India's secular principles enshrined in the constitution, which recognizes and accepts all religions. 

On Sunday, protesters in South Delhi, including locals and some students, torched some buses, cars and two wheelers, while police resorted to baton charges and firing tear gas on the protesters to disperse them.

"About 4,000 people were protesting and police did what they did to disperse them when the crowd burned buses," said Chinmoy Biswal, a senior police officer in the area. "If it had been a peaceful mob it would have been dispersed peacefully."

Police later in the evening stormed into the nearby Jamia Milia Islamia University campus where many protesters were believed to have fled and fired tear gas on the campus and marched some students out, while detaining others.

Many students from the storied Muslim university have been protesting against the new law since Friday, when police first used tear gas to disperse protesters.

Waseem Ahmed Khan, a senior faculty member of the university was quoted by ANI as saying that police have entered the campus on Sunday. "Police have entered the campus by force, no permission was given. Our staff and students are being beaten up and forced to leave the campus."

Students at the nearly 100-year-old university took shelter in the library after police fired tear gas shells, said Tehreem Mirza, a student at the university.

Police defended their move to storm the campus saying they only entered as they were being pelted with stones from within. "We had no intention of entering the university campus, we only want to maintain peace and order," said Biswal.

Protests against the bill continued in parts of eastern India. A highway connecting the states of West Bengal and Assam was blocked in several places on Sunday when protesters, demanding the law be scrapped, burned tires. Violence was also reported in the eastern state of Bihar.

Internet services have been suspended in parts of West Bengal. State chief minister Mamata Banerjee in an address to the people urged for peace and warned that a "section of people are trying to take advantage of the situation and incite communal disharmony."

(With input from agencies)