Change of site may weaken protest, say anti-CAA Shaheen Bagh protestors

The protesters at Shaheen Bagh suggest vacating one side of the Kalindi Kunj stretch to allow the flow of traffic.
Muslim women during the ongoing sit-in protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) at Shaheen Bagh. (Photo | EPS)
Muslim women during the ongoing sit-in protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) at Shaheen Bagh. (Photo | EPS)

NEW DELHI: After the Supreme Court-appointed three interlocutors to try and persuade protesters at Shaheen Bagh to shift the protest site, the demonstrators said that moving to another area might weaken the agitation.

“The main reason for blocking the road was to pressure the government but now if we go to an irrelevant place, I am not sure whether we could insist on our demands with same thrust or not,” said Nadeem Khan, one of the protesters.

He said that the apex court should have asked the government to approach the protesters and address their demands instead of telling the protesters to vacate the road. Asif Mujtaba, a student of IIT Delhi, said that the road blockade happened to pressure the government in a peaceful manner by the sit-in protest.

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However, Mujtaba hinted that there were high chances that the protesters at Shaheen Bagh would obey the top court’s orders and move the protest site.

However, he said that a solution to the problem could be that the protesters would leave one side of the road for traffic while camping on the other side to continue their demonstration.

“We are glad that the SC has at least acknowledged that protest is our right and not asked us to call it off but just shift the site. There is a chance that the protesters reach a consensus with the court-appointed interlocutors. We are afraid that while there is the top court is seeing the legitimacy of our protest, the Delhi Police continues its stand that the protesters at Shaheen Bagh are using women and children as a shield,” he added.

The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by advocate Amit Sahni, who had approached the high court seeking directions to the Delhi Police to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which remains blocked by the anti-CAA protesters since December 15 last year.

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