Students and anti-CAA protesters under the banner — Young India — on Tuesday appealed for peace in Delhi and called for the active intervention of local MLAs, heavier police deployment and immediate arrest of BJP leader Kapil Mishra for allegedly instigating violence.
“We need to make sure that something like 1984 or 2002 does not get repeated,” said former JNUSU president N. Balaji. He said he will set up at least 30 peace committees near protest sites such as Nizamuddin, Hauz Rani and other areas, especially those near educational institutions, that would speak to locals and appeal for clam. The group also appealed for MLAs to “leave their offices and go meet the public”.
Social activist Kavita Krishna attacked the BJP, holding it responsible for the current environment in Delhi. “The U.S. president is in the country now, perhaps which is why the riots are taking place..We need to send a message to the world that the largest democracy is in danger,” she said.
‘Police doing nothing’
Comparing the current state of the city to the 1984 riots, Ms. Krishnan said the police did nothing to end the violence and instead are helping the mob. An anti-CAA protester, who has been a part of the demonstrations at Eidgah, said the current situation has risen out of statements made by the Prime Minister like “you can identify rioters by their clothes”. She also said the anti-CAA protesters were non-violent. “We follow the path of Gandhi...please stop dividing this country,” she appealed.
Other anti-CAA protesters in Wazirabad, a Dalit rights group from Uttar Pradesh — Blue Panthers — and doctors’ association from the across the city also attended the press conference. The group also denounced the CAA, NRC and NPR, calling them “communally divisive and unconstitutional”.
To protest the government’s moves, Young India has called for “Dekhu Chalo” march from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street on March 3.
