Shaheen Bagh Protesters Marching Towards Amit Shah’s Residence Turn Back After Being Assured Of Meeting With Him

Anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh on Sunday began a march from Shaheen Bagh towards Home Minister Amit Shah's residence. The protesters, mainly women, have been staging a sit-in against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) for the past two months. However, the protestors have not yet received permission from the Delhi Police.

In a letter to the protesters, the New Delhi district police said the march will pass through two more districts and request for it has been sent to the police headquarters for further appropriate actions.

The development comes after the Centre, in an outreach, asked the protesters to meet the top leadership in next three days. A Shaheen Bagh protester on Saturday had said, “we are going to meet Amit Shah.” On the question of vacating the site, the protester said that all depends on how the meeting goes.

Shaheen Bagh protests have become the most recognised feature of the ongoing stir against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Several women have children have been staging protests for over two months now. The blockade due to the protests became a political issue in the recently-concluded Delhi Assembly Elections. Several BJP leaders including Parvesh Verma and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has made provocative statements against the Shaheen Bagh protests. 

On February 10 last week, the Supreme Court had also made a stern observation on Shaheen Bagh. “You cannot block public roads indefinitely, protests cannot continue like this,” the top court said in a stern observation. The apex court issued notices to the Delhi Police, NCT government in the matter. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for February 17. The Supreme Court said the people are entitled to protest but they have to do so in an area designated for agitation. However, the top court refused to give an interim order in the case.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been one the most talked about issues in the country for several weeks now. The passage of the contentious act created tensions in different parts of the country. Starting from Assam, Uttar Pradesh to New Delhi, violent protests erupted, culminating into huge damage of public properties. The Citizenship Act protests, which agitators tout as Anti-Muslim, spread far and wide and prohibitory orders (Section 144) and internet shutdowns have also become the order of the day.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) aims to amend the definition of illegal immigrant for Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have lived in India without proper documents. According to the act those who have been living here will be granted fast track Indian citizenship in six years. So far 12 years of residence has been the standard eligibility requirement for naturalisation.