NEW DELHI: It's business as usual at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, the venue of the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, even after several rounds of talks between the protesters and the Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors.
On a sunny Sunday, as the protests entered the 71st day, several speakers heaped praises on the people for their perseverance, expressing hope that the top court will listen to their voice on Monday.
However, some protesters are apprehensive of the government's intention, saying that such protests should come up in each corner of the country.
Speakers at the protest site kept coming, delivering endless speeches with crowd cheering every time something interesting is said.
One speaker Jamal Khan, who came from Faridabad to support this cause, started his speech with 'Jai Hind', and spoke about freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah who gave their lives for the freedom of the nation. He got huge cheers from the crowd when he said that those killed in Jallianwala Bagh massacre included Muslims as well.
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"Hum desh bachane nikle hain aau hamare saath chalen," (We have come out to save our country, come with us,) he said, to the loud cheers of some women who stood and said, "Inquilab Zindabad".
"The fight is not about Muslims but for the Constitution and that is why Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar and other OBC leaders are with this movement," said another speaker.
One of the banners held by a woman protester read in Sanskrit: "yatra nariyastu pujyante, ramente tatr devta," meaning "God exists where females are worshipped".
Speakers also took jibes at the Prime Minister and the Home Minister as one speaker Furkan said, "two persons have made the nation suffer."
When asked, Congress leader Parvez Alam Khan said, "The protest is organic and faceless and nobody can claim to be its leader. So without concrete assurance from the court, nobody is willing to move from here as people have lost faith in the government because of the contradictory statements being made."
The interlocutors appointed by the Supreme Court held several parleys with the protesters but the road blockade issue has not yet been resolved.
However, the protesters have opened an arterial road where traffic now can move towards Noida.