Thousands of people from across the city thronged the Qubbus Sab Idgah ground on Monday to participate in a peace rally and protest organised by the Joint Action Committee, Bengaluru against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The participants came in autorickshaws, motorbikes, and cars holding and waving the Indian flag and shouting slogans against CAA and NRC before assembling in the ground.
Maulana Tanveer Hashmi from Vijayapura said this was a fight not just by and for Muslims, but by and for people of all religions.
Iftikhar Ahmed Qasmi, president of Jamate Ullema Hind, said, “People voted them to power. We voted because we are Indians. How can they now say we are not Indians?”
The participants came in autorickshaws, motorbikes, and cars holding and waving the Indian flag and shouting slogans against CAA and NRC before assembling in the ground.
Participants who spoke at the rally gave a call for a non-cooperation movement by refusing to divulge information during the NRC exercise if and when implemented, and not stop their protests and dissent until the government promises ‘no NRC’ and repeals CAA.
Activist Harsh Mander, addressing the rally, said that the country was built on love and not hatred. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent speech at Ramlila Maidan, Mr. Mander said that the Union government was “confusing the people” and pointed to contradictory statements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah regarding implementation of NRC.
“Home Minister Amit Shah time and again, inside and outside Parliament, has stated that they would extend NRC to the rest of the country. Now our PM is contradicting what Shah has said,” he said, demanding clarity on the issue by the Union government.
Former bureaucrat Sasikanth Senthil, terming CAA and NRC as “unconstitutional and regressive”, said, “I hope Modi and Shah have now understood what India and Bharat is. If not, I am sure they will understand soon,” he said, and added that the Union government had not expected such level of unity among the people.
The protest ended with thousands of people singing the national anthem.
The participants came in autorickshaws, motorbikes, and cars holding and waving the Indian flag and shouting slogans against CAA and NRC before assembling in the ground.
Mobile networks affected
Many complained of mobile networks being down, which was suspected to be because of the huge turnout.
As participants started dispersing after the protest, movement of traffic was affected in and around Cantonment Railway station, and Jayamahal Road, Millers Road and M.V. Jayaraman Road.
There was heavy police deployment in and around the protest site.
Many shops shut down
Many shops in Shivajinagar, Russell Market, Tilak Nagar and Ilyas Nagar remained closed to express solidarity with the protest against CAA and NRC.
M. Ameem, owner of a flower shop near Russell Market, said, “We are supporting the ongoing protests in the city and therefore, we have shut our shops. The government cannot come up with any decision in a fortnight without keeping in mind the countrymen. This Act is unjust and unfair.”
Many shops in Shivajinagar, Russell Market, Tilak Nagar and Ilyas Nagar remained closed to express solidarity with the protest against CAA and NRC.
Maqsood, who owns a pet store, said, “We have been living in this country. The government expects us to prove our existence. How fair do you think this is on us?”
The losses in business will not deter them, they said.
Sudhakar, a garment owner, said, “Here, the question is of our identity and therefore, we are not going to be silent about it. If our fight demands us to lose out on a little money, it doesn't really matter.”
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