It’s people’s issue, not of a community: Protesters

A section of BJP leaders blamed Muslim political leaders and community for the violence during the protests

Police trying to convince a lone man protesting against CAA in front of Town Hall in Bengaluru on Friday, to disperse.

Wary of the agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) being portrayed as a “Muslim issue”, progressive organisations in the State have begun working on “correcting the perception” and broadbasing the movement.

As a section of BJP leaders blamed Muslim political leaders and community for the violence during the protests, protesters have termed it a “desperate attempt by the BJP to polarise the electorate on religious lines”.

“We need to underscore the fact that it has hit the core of constitutional values,” said K.S. Vimala of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, who has been taking part in the protests in the State.

Non-religious, progressive organisations and people from all backgrounds and communities have participated in the movement, pointed out Manohar Elawarthy, one of the conveners of Hum Bharat Ke Log – Citizen Action Against CAA, the organiser of Thursday protests across the country.

“There were people from all walks of life, especially students and youngsters, where the police had detained protesters on Thursday,” said historian Ramachandra Guha, who was also one of the detainees.

“There has been an outpouring of support especially from students in the State,” said Vinay Sreenivasa, a trade unionist. For instance, students from multiple city colleges organised a protest at Bengaluru Central University on Friday evening and students from the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru, joined the protests. NLSIU, Bengaluru, has opened a legal services cell for the detainees. “The Act has done injustice to the idea of India,” said Ms. Vimala.

In Mysuru, Save Constitution Committee, comprising progressive, Left and farmers’ organisations, is trying to broadbase the movement by convincing “passive” communities that controversial piece of legislation is a threat to people from all sections of society, particularly the poor and weaker sections, cutting across religious divides.

“It is important to keep the agitation secular,” said Shabbir Mustafa, a member of the committee. “The agitation should not be projected as a Muslim issue. It’s a people’s issue,” said Chandrashekar Meti, another member of the committee.