Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj
Armed with nothing but larger-than-life cut outs of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb Ambedkar, hundreds marched from New Delhi’s Mandi House to Jantar Mantar as part of ongoing protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 on Tuesday, 24 December.
Among those who marched to the protest venue in Parliament street were Swaraj India Chief Yogendra Yadav, activists Umar Khalid and Harsh Mander, and Sandeep Dikshit, son of late Sheela Dikshit.
Speaking to The Quint, Yogendra Yadav said the government is merely pretending that there is confusion about CAA and NRC. “How can the prime minister not know what the home minister has said in Parliament? Does this mean that the PM is unaware or is he being dishonest? Either way, this shows he doesn’t deserve to be prime minister.”
Speaking on NRC, Yadav said that instead of the feared Census, the government should conduct a “National Register of Unemployment”.
Speaking on the contradictions between the statements made by PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, activist Umar Khalid said that whenever the government finds itself trapped, it resorts to lies.
“Two weeks back, Home Minister Amit Shah had said that NRC would be implemented across the country. Either he should resign or clearly state that there will be no NRC at a pan-India level. These jumlas won’t work.”Umar Khalid, Activist
Among many others who had gathered at the protest was Parvati, who was detained at a protest outside UP Bhawan on 23 December. When asked if she was afraid of being detained again, the writer said, “I was just walking alone when they detained me. But this isn’t the time to be afraid. It’s the time to come out in the streets.”
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)