Hundreds of protesters, including students and people from Jamia and Shaheen Bagh, marched from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar on Monday to mark their protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register for Citizens (NRC).
The march was called by the Young India Coordination Committee and it was joined by several student organisations and coordination committee of Jamia and Shaheen Bagh. They marched through Lutyens' Delhi escorted by police while raising slogans. Several people and students, belonging to different universities across the city, raised slogans demanding azaadi from the new citizenship law and carried posters which read 'We stand united against CAA', 'Secularism up, Communalism down'.
Miraj, a member of Shaheen Bagh Coordination Committee said the women at their protesting site have set an example for the rest of the country by sitting peacefully for the last 35 days to protect the Constitution.
"When Delhi was shivering under extreme cold, the grandmothers at Shaheen Bagh were out on the streets to save the Constitution. The protest that was triggered due to violence at Jamia has now set an example for the entire nation and there is a Shaheen Bagh springing up at every other place," he said.
Shahdosh Aalam, a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee said they will not step down unless the Centre rolls back CAA and challenged the Home Minster to visit Shaheen Bagh, speak to students of Jamia and address the protesting students and public.
"I was witness to the police brutality that was unleashed at Jamia Millia Islamia. We were lathicharged and attacked. I challenge the government. They may call the police or use tear gas but none of these can stop our sentiments against CAA. The nationwide protests show that the Centre is wrong and their intensions are wrong," he said.
Dinesh Kumar, research scholar at Ambedkar University, said, "The centre is being selective on which minority communities they will be giving citizenship to. Why is there a selective approach? Why is citizenship linked to religion here? What about atheists?"
Citing economic crisis, Anushree Joshi, a student of Lady Shri Ram College said the Centre does not have resources for their own citizens and with implementation of CAA, how will the government provide resources to them with such economic slowdown, she asked.
