Scores of residents took to the streets to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens at Inlaks Nagar in Andheri (West) on Monday. The protesters, who were agitating as the Jharkhand Assembly election results were coming in, said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has caused its own defeat through its actions.
The protest, held at Yari Road, witnessed participation from more than 200 residents of Inlaks Nagar. It was organised by Helping Hand of Human Foundation, along with youth volunteers.
Kishwar Mirza, a practising Bombay High Court lawyer, accused Home Minister Amit Shah of lying to the government abut the CAA. “The government said the persecuted minorities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan will be provided citizenship but there is no such mention of providing citizenship to the persecuted citizens in the gazette. The Home Minister openly declared about implementing the NRC nationwide, but the Prime Minister on Sunday refuted any such comment from the government. At least one of them is lying,” said Ms. Mirza, who was protesting with a CAA gazette copy in her hand.
Protesters raised slogans of ‘inquilab zindabad’ and ‘Mumbai Police zindabad’, along with placards which read, ‘Modi-Shah ek dhoka hai’ (Modi-Shah are a betrayal), ‘Error 404 - Democracy not found’, and ‘ Azaadi ab BJP ne looti hai’ (BJP has now stolen freedom).
Sufiyan Haider, Youth Congress president of the North-West district, said the protests need to continue till the government takes steps in the direction of people’s welfare. “The basic problem of the law is that if the government plans to call such a large number of people, where will they keep them and what will it feed them? If the government is still planning to bring them, I would suggest it raise the living standards of the citizens, who are already poor,” Mr. Haidar said.
He said another protest rally is being organised by the end of December, during which the protesters will march with a 500-foot-long national flag.
Imran Sayyed, one of the organisers, said, “The government has got its first blow with the Jharkhand Assembly elections result. It planned to play the divide-and-rule policy but in fact, people have let them know about the unity of citizens. Among the lakhs of people migrating into India through CAA, there can be at least one terrorist from countries nearby. How will the government distinguish between a regular migrant and a terrorist?” he asked.
The protest, like most others in the city as well as the country, saw mixed participation, with students making their presence felt. “The government has always made us suffer through its master plans like demonetisation, Goods and Services Tax, and now CAA and NRC. How can it implement such a communal law, which violates our human rights?” Ravisha Khan, a medical student, said.
