Massive Protest against CAA Held in Delhi ahead of Parliament Session

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Masihuzzama Ansari | India Tomorrow

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 29— Two days before the Parliament begins its Budget Session, thousands of people from different parts of the country converged at Jantar Mantar, a stone’s throw from the Parliament House, on Wednesday to press their demand for withdrawal of controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Since CAA was passed by the Parliament on December 11, there have been massive nationwide protests against the discriminatory law which seeks to give Indian citizenship only to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Today’s protest demonstration was organized by the Alliance Against CAA, NRC & NPR.

Eminent personalities who addressed the massive gathering included human rights activist and convenor of Alliance Ravi Nair, Co-convenor Mujtaba Farooque, RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, Welfare Party president Dr SQR Ilyas, Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind S Aminul Hasan and National Secretary Malik Motasim Khan, Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat president Navaid Hamid besides youth and student leaders – Sai Balaji, Sadaf Jafar, Afrin Fatima and Umar Farukh.

Addressing the gathering, RJD leader Prof. Manoj Jha said this movement for the protection of the country and the constitution will ultimately win though it may take some time.

“I am 52 years old. I am visiting across the country and telling people that I have never seen such protest in my whole life. I want to tell political parties that none of them should be in illusion that any of them created this movement. Mothers and sisters of this country, who were busy in their life, gave birth to this movement when they saw the Parliament failing,” said Prof. Jha.

He also said that BJP got this law passed as it had majority in the Parliament and opposition got disappointed but this movement has removed their disappointment.

“I was present during the debate on this bill in the Rajya Sabha. With folded hands, I had told Home Minister Amit Shah not to bring this law. I told him that this is Bapu’s country, don’t bring this law. But they had majority and got it passed. We got disappointed but you people have removed out disappointment,” he said.

Jamaat’s Vice President S Aminul Hasan termed CAA as a manuvadi law and urged people to oppose it.

“CAA is a manuvadi law. They want to impose Manuvad in the country. But we dream of a modern India.”

“I send my salam to those killed in mob lynching and those died inside detention centres. They died silent deaths but we have stood up as their voice. We won’t allow detention centres to come up in the country,” said Jamaat leader.

Highlighting the good values of Hindu religion, he said that the acts and speeches of Hindutva brigade do not match with Hindu religion.

Talking to India Tomorrow, former JNU Students Union president N Sai Balaji denounced the Karnataka government’s decision to book a school and children under sedition charges for enacting a play against CAA and PM Modi.

“What a nation have we become that we are booking children under sedition charges for standing in support of Constitution. Government booked youths and elderly people under sedition law in the past and now they are not sparing even schoolchildren,” said Balaji.

“Despite the scale and intensity of the protests, the government is unwilling to back down and talk to the people,” said the Alliance which has been at the forefront of the nationwide peaceful protests.

“Our democratic struggle is to uphold the noble values of the Constitution and prevent our nation from being subverted into a totalitarian state,” said the organizer and also condemned excessive use of force against protesters at Jamia Millia, Aligarh Muslim University and in various districts of Uttar Pradesh last month.

The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on Jan 31.

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