New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted at his Ramlila Maidan rally Sunday that there has been “no discussion on the topic of a (nationwide) National Register of Citizens”.
Some protesters who have taken to the streets to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NRC responded by calling it a “small step towards victory”. However, not all the protesters were convinced, and pointed out that while Modi says there’s no NRC afoot, Home Minister Amit Shah has been talking about it in Parliament as well as in public rallies.
An IT professional who was protesting at Jantar Mantar said Modi now appears to be on the back foot.
“They have announced this (NRC), got the CAA, and now they do not know what to do with it. The government did not anticipate that people will rise against them,” said the professional who did not wish to be named.
“They now stand exposed. In case they wish to do some face-saving, they should immediately roll back this draconian law.”
Amir, a Jamia Millia Islamia student attending a protest at the university, said: “There is a limit to lying. He (Modi) does not have any respect for the chair he is sitting on.”
In his first public address on the issue of the CAA and NRC since the protests began, the PM said the protesters were misled by “rumours and lies” spread by opposition parties, and once again trained guns on the Congress.
Massive security cover
Several protest meetings and rallies were planned across the capital Sunday, to run simultaneously with the Ramlila Maidan rally, which was organised to “thank” Modi for regularising unauthorised colonies.
While the police did not give permission to hold any protest marches, some were given a go-ahead to hold “peaceful meetings” at one place.
With more than 2 lakh participants expected at Ramlila Maidan, there were intelligence inputs that a group of people might take out a black flag procession in the area, and a series of inputs suggesting that possible clashes may break out, between the pro- and anti-CAA groups.
To prevent violence, the authorities divided Central Delhi into 14 zones, and deployed specialised teams to cover them.
The Delhi Police also had a special meeting with the Special Protection Group and the National Security Guard, and more than 3,000 policemen and 2,000 personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces were deployed.
However, peace prevailed across the city, as both the Ramlila Maidan rally and the anti-CAA protests concluded without any untoward incidents.
“We ensured that the PM’s supporters from outside Delhi do not reach the capital armed. We were also keeping a check to ensure no flying object is used by miscreants,” a police officer told ThePrint.
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‘This is an uprising’
At a protest meeting in Nizamuddin, JNU scholar and activist Umar Khalid and senior advocate Sanjay Hegde were in attendance.
Khalid told ThePrint that the coming together of youngsters against the CAA is more than just a protest — it is an “uprising”, and will grow only bigger.
“The youth cannot be fooled anymore. They know that it is the Modi government’s strategy to take the attention away, shift focus from its failures like the dipping economy,” he said.
“NRC and CAA are the biggest sham. They are against all people, communities and religions. This is not just about Muslims. These protests are going to grow bigger.”
Hegde, meanwhile, said people protesting against the CAA were not in this fight as Hindus or Muslims, but as “Indians”.
“This is a fight for our Constitution, which is in danger,” he said.
One thing all participants across the anti-CAA meetings are rallies agreed on and reiterated was that they are against any sort of violence.
“We should spread the word that we are against any violence and we should not give this government any chance to question this nationwide uprising by indulging in any sort of illegal activity,” Shahid, a protester, told other participants at the Nizamuddin meeting. “We should not let this dilute our movement.”
Also read: From writing history to becoming a part: How Ramachandra Guha became face of CAA protests