Thousands protest at Jama Masjid at Bhim Army chief’s call
AGITATION The call for Friday’s march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar was given by Chandrashekhar Azad
I am sitting on the stairs of the Jama Masjid to tell the Modi government that we will not let you kill the constitution. This country is ours and we will fight till the end to save it CHANDRASHEKHAR AZAD, Bhim Army chief
NEW DELHI: Defying heavy security and prohibitory orders, several thousand people, cutting across religious lines, gathered outside the iconic Jama Masjid in the Walled City to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the possibility of a National Registration of Citizens (NRC) exercise across India on Friday. Till late Friday night some of the protesters including, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, were shouting slogans inside the Jama Masjid and refused to leave even as police waited outside to probe his role in the Friday evening’s violence at Delhi Gate.
The call for Friday’s protest march from the Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar in central Delhi was given by Chandrashekhar Azad. Delhi Police had denied permission for the march and stopped a section of the crowd at Delhi Gate. Heavy security was deployed in areas around the Jama Masjid in view of the protest call. Police had barricaded all the exit and entry lanes. Police personnel were seen checking identity cards of people who were coming to the area after the Friday prayers had begun, in order to avoid a gathering. Police also used drone cameras to monitor the situation.
However, immediately after the Friday prayers around 1pm, a large group of protesters gathered on the stairs of the Jama
Masjid’s gate number 1 and started sloganeering. Holding up tricolours, placards with antiCAA and anti-NRC messages, and photographs of Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh, the protesters were seen wearing black bands around their foreheads and arms. Locals of the area welcomed them by showering flowers from their windows and balconies. All this while, two Delhi police drones kept an eye on the protesters from above.
Seelampur resident, Saddam Ahmed, who is a first year graduation student, said, “We are wearing these black bands because our country is going through dark times. The government is trying to tear its secular spirit.”
“I am sitting on the stairs of the Jama Masjid to tell the Modi government that we will not let you kill the constitution. This country is ours and we will fight till the end to save it,” Bhim
Army chief Azad tweeted, before appearing at the protest site.
Later, amid heavy police security, Chandrashekhar Azad appeared in the middle of the crowd with a copy of the Indian Constitution around 2pm. The crowd immediately bust into “Jai Bheem” slogans to welcome Azad. Though he was detained by the police, he managed to slip away, only to reappear among the crowd later.
Azad, 31, later re-appeared at Jama Masjid around 4:30 pm and read out the preamble of the constitution to the protesters.
Chandni Chowk MLA and Congress leader Alka Lamba also joined the protest at Jama Masjid. She requested the protesters to maintain peace.
Many among the protesters were demanding justice for the students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) who were injured during a police crackdown last week.
Jitendra Singh, who works in a bank in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, had come with a group of people to participate in the protest. “If the government thinks that only Muslims are protesting against this law, they are wrong. People of all faith are against this religion based division of the county,” he said.
Meanwhile, protesters tried to carry out their march to Jantar Mantar multiple times but were stopped by the police at the Delhi Gate near Daryaganj. The crowd swelled at Delhi Gate by 6pm and turned violent.