Thousands from across Raigad district turned up for the Bahujan Kranti Morcha organised by the All India Backward (SC, ST, and OBC) and Minority Communities Employees Federation at Alibaug on Wednesday. The rally was in protest against NRC and CAA. The first phase of the morcha was on December 20, last year, while the final phase will be on January 29, when a Bharat bandh has been called.
Prabhakar Mokashi, district coordinator of the morcha for Raigad district, said protests and rallies were conducted across 550 districts in the country and a letter was submitted to the respective district administration. The rally was backed by all non-political organisations, Mr. Mokashi said. “Members of the Muslim community, SC, ST, and Buddhists participated with large numbers.”
Imtiyaz Palkar, peace and rehabilitation chairman of Raigad District Muslim Welfare Organisation that supported the morcha, said, “The rally started at Ambedkar statue and passed via Shivaji statue before ending at KES School. A 10-member delegation submitted a letter to the Raigad Collector.”
The letter had 12 demands, including issues pertaining to NRC, CAA, EVM, and VVPAT. The letter also demanded that cases be registered against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “They have divided the country and created disharmony. Hence criminal cases should be filed against them and fast-tracked,” Mr. Mokashi said. A demand to not associate religion with citizenship was also mentioned in the letter.
