New Delhi: The Shaheen Bagh protesters are now alleging that Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has shown no sign of empathy towards them, and also blame MLA Amanatullah Khan for not meeting them after winning the polls in the Okhla constituency by over 71,000 votes.
“We voted Amanatullah Khan to power, we supported him, but now after the polls are over, he is nowhere to be seen. We need the local MLA to support us,” an elderly woman protester told ThePrint at Shaheen Bagh Saturday. The woman did not wish to give her name.
Another protester, who also wanted to remain anonymous, added: “After the elections, even Amanatullah Khan hasn’t come over to talk to us. There is no sign of him.”
The Shaheen Bagh protest — against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens and National Population Register — has been going on for the last 70 days, but CM Kejriwal didn’t visit it ahead of the 8 February Delhi assembly polls. Now, even after winning 62 of Delhi’s 70 seats, Kejriwal’s continued absence has disappointed protesters.
“We understood when Kejriwal didn’t come to meet us during the campaigning and before the poll results, but now we have elected him. He couldn’t find a little time to come and talk to us? We feel extremely marginalised,” said Anjum Khan, part of the group of protesters known as the Shaheen Bagh ‘dadis’ (grandmothers).
“We waited until 16 February for Kejriwal to complete his oath-taking ceremony; we have chosen him with a big majority. He can’t just keep sitting as chief minister; it’s his moral duty to find a solution to our problems,” said another elderly woman, who also wanted to remain anonymous.
“We have almost lost hope in (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah; now it’s Arvind Kejriwal’s time to intervene and find a solution,” this woman added.
Kejriwal had called on Shah last Wednesday after winning the elections, but they had not discussed the Shaheen Bagh issue.
Also read: Maulana Azad cautioned against ‘nationalism’ in 1947. CAA shows we didn’t learn a thing
Attempt to change narrative
The protesters are also expressing disappointment with the Supreme Court-appointed mediation panel. They say the narrative has changed from their protest against CAA-NRC-NPR to an issue of road blockade and public inconvenience.
“Everyone knows that Shaheen Bagh was an issue in the Delhi assembly polls, but now it has been reduced to road blockade. Now, the Supreme Court-appointed mediators also don’t want to talk to us about our demands. So why appoint them? Just to get the road cleared?” another Shaheen Bagh ‘dadi’, who did not wish to be named, said.
Mediators Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran held three rounds of talks with the Shaheen Bagh protesters, and on Friday morning, the police barricades placed on the road from Noida to Delhi via Kalindi Kunj were opened twice briefly, before being placed again.
Ameer Jahan, another Shaheen Bagh dadi, who claimed to be one of the protesters who had met Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on 21 January, said the government has turned a blind eye.
“Our issues against the entire CAA-NRC-NPR are bigger than this road blockade. This SC panel hasn’t talked to us about our demands at all. Now that we have elected Arvind Kejriwal as Delhi’s chief minister, isn’t it his moral obligation to support us and try to get rid of the CAA?” Jahan asked.
“We want him to stand with us like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stands with anti-CAA protests,” she said, adding that the AAP government must stand up for the people and pass anti-CAA resolutions like Kerala and Rajasthan have done.
Sadaf, a student of Jamia Millia Islamia who is also part of the Shaheen Bagh protest, said the Supreme Court’s appointment of mediators to negotiate only on the road blockade is just an attempt to bring a “change in discourse”.
Also read: Nirmala Sitharaman or Shaheen Bagh protesters: Why angry women make everyone uncomfortable
Shahul
CAA doesn’t give Pak Muslims to come back to India because 1. Pak sponsors terrorism in India and we don’t want to take that risk.2. Muslims in Pak choose a division of country and why should they be allowed again. Partition was also on religious lines. CAA protects religiously prosecuted people and cannot pamper prosecutors
Ha! ha! ha!
Dadis, welcome to the real world. Your betas made fools of you. You’ve given them comfortable kursis for 5 years. You can continue sitting on the ground.
Serves you right.
Can anyone here justify is Citizenship decided based on religion?
It shouldn’t be. This is why the protests are all over India. Let supreme court decide on this and not anyone
Can you pls justify is Citizenship decided based on religion? Citizenship shouldn’t be based on religion.
If it’s TRUE this is the solution to end this.
Jihadi in action In the garb of democratic protests…funniest and the most important outcome is that many Hindus have became aware of the hatred muzzies have towards Hindus or other faith people ….let this show of jihad go on ,people will reach them a lesson
According to this writer, Shaheeb Bagh protestors are the new holy cows who must be pampered by everyone.
Shaheen Baugh protestors will loose everything and more. There will be no one to help them now. Had they not created ruckus and protest for their brothers in Pakistan they would have earned sympathy. For such a Islam followers religion is above law and nation.
There is nothing against Indian Muslim citizens, so why protest? Do you want terrorists from abroad?
If you’re saying no issues to muslims and the govt
Is seeing everyone equal then why they are pointing only to Muslims and why they can’t give Citizenship.
If a non-Muslim Indians who dont hv proper records they are able to get Indian citizenship even though they are illegal migrants, but if a born Muslim Muslim India if he doesn’t have proofs he will be sent to detention camps bcoz he is a Muslim?
Can you pls justify is Citizenship decided based on religion?
Please do your homework.
They can be given citizenship and they have bee given citizenship. But the kaffirs whom their State religion persecuted have been given fast-track citizenship, that’s all. You have a problem rescuing those those whom your religion persecutes?
Those non-Muslims are refugees from three Islamic States persecuted by Islam. No Muslim citizen of India is affected. Please show the law that affects Muslim citizens. Why are you spreading misinformation?
Islamic States justify citizenship based on religion. Those whom they have persecuted because of religion have been given refuge in a non-Islamic State. You get Islam to stop persecuting kaffirs, and the problem will end.