Women protesters at Shaheen Bagh on Wednesday interacted with two Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors while they stood their ground on not vacating the protest site until the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was revoked by the Centre.
In a nearly two-hour-long interaction between advocates Sanjay Hegde, Sadhana Ramachandran and the protesters, several women, including students, the Shaheen Bagh dadis, voiced their concerns and reservations against the CAA, NPR and the NRC.
Bilkhis Banu, one of the Shaheen Bagh dadis, while addressing the interlocutors said: “We will not move an inch till the law is revoked. When we voted for you [Centre] we were not gaddars [traitors] but now suddenly we are. Don’t forget that we [citizens] managed to send the British away as well. Only a part of the road has been blocked by us while the police have blocked the rest of it. Why is that not being opened?”
Fatima, a student, told the interlocutors: “Is inconvenience being cause only to people who are stuck in traffic? What about us — the women, children and elderly protesters who have continued to sit on this road braving the rains and winters? Now you want us to move from here as well. Where do we raise our voices then?”
“If we move from here we will be letting down the previous generations which have fought for us and the future generations will have to prove that they are citizens of this country. Yes, people have the right to travel on roads but when it’s about saving democracy and the Constitution, it is important to come out on the streets,” said Ms. Fatima.
Prakash Devi, a resident of Karol Bagh, said, “We are saying this again. The road will be emptied in 30 minutes of the law being revoked by the government.”
Before the interlocutors reached the protest site, announcements were made that when a team met the two advocates near the barricades they were told that the protesters would not be addressed in the presence of media, an appeal which was also made later. Even as protesters in unison demanded talks to be held before the media, later they were asked to leave.
