Tag: anti-CAA-protests

Anti-CAA protests spread to 11 Bihar districts.

Source –

The ongoing protest at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register has spread to at least 11 districts of Bihar.

Protesters, mostly women and girls, can be seen waving national flag, singing patriotic songs and reciting poems at dharnas in parks and open areas. In Patna alone, such protests are being held at three places for the past several days.

‘No party flags’

Politicians and social activists like Brinda Karat, Kanhaiya Kumar, Yogendra Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and Shivanand Tiwari have addressed the protesters, explaining the implications of the CAA. “We don’t allow them to make political speeches here. They come to lend us support, nothing more,” said Omair Khan, who has been leading one such protest at Gaya’s Shanti Bagh.

“Leaders are welcome to lend us support, but no party flags are allowed,” said Mohd. Sarfaraj, who has been sitting on protest at Patna’s Subzibagh.

Phulwarisharif and Mangal Talab are the other two areas in Patna which have been seeing continuous anti-CAA-NRC-NPR protests. Hundreds of women of all ages and even small children can be seen sitting round-the-clock and raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s “anti-people” policies. Mothers holding babies in their arms discuss how CAA-NPR-NRC would impact their lives, while the men are mostly engaged in managing the crowd.

“We will not move from here till this law is withdrawn by the Modi government even if it takes months or years,” says a veiled Akbari Khatun, who has been coming to the protest site every day for the last 17 days.

Students at forefront

Similar protests are being held in Kishanganj, Katihar, Bettiah in West Champaran, Begusarai, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Gaya, Darbhanga and Madhubani districts. At some places like Bettiah, girl students from Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Milia Islamia have been leading the protests. “The CAA, NRC and NPR have put a question mark on our identity in our own country. Who are these people to ask us for our identity,” asked a young girl from Darbhanga.

“The day is not far when such protests will spread to all corners of the country and force the government to withdraw this law,” said Nafisa Parveen at Gaya.

Anti-CAA-NRC stir: From PhD scholar to homemaker, women lead big protest in Ranchi.

Source – indianexpress.com

A homemaker left her ailing in-laws behind at home, a businesswoman locked up her stationery shop, and a doctoral student missed her class. All of them went to Ranchi’s Doranda Urs Maidan — along with 70,000 others — to protest against the new citizenship law, the National Population Register (NPR), and the proposed NRC.

Jharkhand has seen several anti-CAA protests — the ‘Samvidhan Bachao, Desh Bachao’ gathering at the Maidan on Saturday was the largest in the state so far. Professor Rizwan Ali, one of the coordinators of the event, said more than 30,000 of the protesters were women.

A woman who identified herself as Rani Parween held up a sign that said, “Humein chain se jeene do, kala kanoon wapas lo (Let us live in peace, take back the black law)”. She said she had joined various protests against the CAA earlier, but had made extra effort to be present on Saturday.

“My in-laws are ailing, and need constant attention. However, this protest was very important for all of us — not just because (Prime Minister) Modiji’s intention is to discriminate against one religion, but also because it is against humanity. I had to leave my in-laws at home and lock the door from the outside to come here,” she said. Parween, a homemaker, said she would attend all protests in the city.

By the afternoon, the protest ground was teeming with women from all strata of society. Nushi Begum, who came with her husband and their daughter who studies in Class 7, said they had decided to keep their shop closed to be able to attend the protest. “Hum kaagaz kyon dikhayein? Hum isi ke virodh mein aaye hain. (Why should we show papers? We are protesting because we are forced to do so),” she said.

Her daughter, Sanya Sarah Hayat, held the Tricolour in one hand and a sign in the other: “Tanashahi nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi (We won’t allow dictatorship).” She said: “People are divided, we are constantly getting messages on social media on this issue.”

Near a group of protesters singing the now signature Aazaadi song, Ranchi University PhD scholar Arma Mazhar stood holding a sign that read: “Hum documents se nahin, dil se Hindustani hain (We are Indians by our hearts, not by any documents).” She said that she had also joined a protest at Firalyal Chowk in the city earlier.

Next to Arma stood a woman who said he has a small shop that makes bags. “In WhatsApp messages, television reports, and phonecalls, we are being reminded every day about this issue. The entire family is tense. Agar ab nahin karenge protest to kab karenge (If not today then when else will we protest)?” she said.

Nigar Sultana, who runs a computer coaching centre in Doranda, said she had downed shutters to make it to the protest. “Atal Bihari Vajpayee was better than Modiji. We only pray that they follow his (Vajpayee’s) path. We have been trying to spread awareness on this black law that Modiji has brought,” she said.

Nigar said women like her had come out in the streets to protect the Constitution, and that she would be part of the indefinite protest near Haj House, Kadru on the lines of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi beginning Monday.

At Bihar rally, Yogi Adityanath says anti-CAA protests are conspiracy hatched ‘from afar’, slams Opposition for ‘adding fuel to fire’.

Source – firstpost.com

Gaya: The countrywide anti-CAA protests are a “conspiracy” hatched from afar by those resentful of a united and grand India and these are being aided by a “crooked” opposition, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath alleged on Tuesday.

Addressing a rally organized by the BJP in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which was passed less than two months ago, the firebrand BJP leader charged that those opposing the legislation were committing the “paap” (sin) of working against national interests.

Sushil Kumar Modi (Bihar deputy chief minister) and Sanjay Jaiswal (state BJP chief) have articulated very well how the CAA is about granting citizenship to persecuted refugees and not about taking it away from anybody, he said.

“For taking such a step, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah deserve acclaim. Instead they are being attacked”, Yogi lamented.

“Protests are taking place across the country and a ‘kutil’ (crooked) Opposition is adding fuel to the fire. But the people of the country need to understand that it is a conspiracy hatched from afar.

“The strings are being pulled by those who are resentful of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’ (united India, grand India) which is becoming a reality under Modi”, he claimed.

Seeking to underscore that the Modi government did not discriminate against people on the basis of their religious identity, Yogi asked so many people have benefitted from the welfare schemes like Ujjwala Yojana and the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

“Was anybody asked, before being included as a beneficiary, as to what is his or her religion or caste?” he remarked.

But those feeling threatened by the new India keep looking for an opportunity to thwart Modis efforts to build Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat, he said.

“This new India does not cower, like the Congress did, before Pakistan’s atomic power.

“The neighbouring country is today fearful that it may end up losing even the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, after the Article 370, which Jawaharlal Nehru wrongly introduced, was abrogated”, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, evoking wild applause.

The monk-turned-politician, who also heads the Gorakhnath Temple, began his speech recalling his spiritual ancestors deep links with Gaya and the ancient links between eastern Uttar Pradesh and this central Bihar town pointing out that Lord Buddha came from Kapilavastu situated in Siddharthnagar district in the adjoining state  and attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.

In the town after which a reserved Lok Sabha constituency is also named, Yogi appealed to Dalits reverence for BR Ambedkar.

“The revolutionary-turned-freedom fighter Sri Aurobindo had said that the biggest virtue, in current times is to work for national interest and the biggest sin is to work against it. The Opposition is committing a paap (sin). To understand this, you should take the contrasting examples of Ambedkar and Jogendra Nath Mandal”, Yogi said.

“Ambedkar remained loyal to his country while Mandal fell for Jinnah’s designs, helped the creation of Pakistan and became a minister in that country.

“While Ambedkar is a revered figure, Mandal felt so stifled in Pakistan that within a decade he resigned and came to Kolkata where he spent his last years living a life of anonymity. Let it be known to whoever works against national interests shall be condemned to a similar fate”, he added.

He said while coming to the venue he was bemused to see posters put up on the walls by the RJD-Congress combine opposing CAA in the name of the Constitution.

“A party which had strangled the Constitution by imposing the Emergency has the audacity to do so”, Yogi said taking a swipe at the grand old party.

The Congress always surrendered before those who ran their “shops of fatwas” and expected the country to be run as per their decrees and not the Constitution. They never cared for the humiliation faced by Muslim women because of triple talaq and it required a Narendra Modi to illegalize this practice, he said.

“Congress, similarly, played a scare-monger on Ram temple issue, claiming blood will be spilled on the streets if the matter was taken to its logical conclusion. Now it has been settled once and for all and on this auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti I declare that Ayodhya in my state  will soon be ready with a Ram Mandir”, he added.

Before ending his speech, Yogi said he would like to underscore the need for the society at large to be on guard against “deplorable attempts” (kutsit cheshtaein) to mislead the nation on CAA.

He exhorted those gathered at the programme to fan out and tell the people that this law is about granting citizenship and not taking it away and that it has nothing to do with NRC. NRC was an exercise that took place in Assam, upon the Supreme Courts direction, the UP CM added.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Tejashwi Yadav is scheduled to attend a dharna against CAA in the evening here at Shanti Bagh, barely a km away from  Gandhi Maidanm, the venue of Yogi’s function.

As part of the BJP’s nationwide pro-CAA campaign, party president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to address a rally in Vaishali on coming Thursday.