The ongoing protest against the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Deoband’s Idgah ground continued during the ‘janata curfew’ on Sunday. “Following the directions of the government, we have cut down on the number of protesters at the ground. At any given time there are not more than 10 protesters,” said Aamna Roshi, president of the Mutahid Khawatin Committee. “We make sure that there is only one woman on one bench. Two members of the committee and eight others are sitting on protest. They will be replaced by other protesters after the eight-hour shift. No public speeches are being made. We will continue like this till the threat of COVID-19 comes down.”
On the issue of hygiene, Ms. Roshi said only burqa-clad women were present on the site. “A burqa has four layers, which is better than the three-layered mask recommended by the administration. We are providing sanitisers at the site as well,” she added.
Ms. Roshi said the protest would continue as the government didn’t pass any notification on CAA-NRC -NPR. “It has been 56 days. We are doing what the Prime Minister expects of us but the people in power are not responding to our demands. Merely making statements won’t help, they should give us in writing,” she urged.
The local administration, she alleged, was putting pressure on male members of the families of protesters to put an end to the protest.
Meanwhile, anti-CAA protest continued in Shahjamal area of Aligarh as well. According to local sources around 500 people turned up for the protest on Sunday.
‘Act more dangerous’
“We believe that the ‘black act’ is more dangerous for them than the virus. We are following the ‘janata curfew’ by keeping our business establishments shut but protesting against CAA-NRC-NPR is a separate matter,” said a participant, requesting anonymity.
“We are taking precautions like we are not bringing children to the protest site and are washing hands at regular intervals. Some of us are wearing masks as well,” a protester told reporters. “As Aligarh is yet to see any positive case of COVID-19, the protesters are not taking its threat seriously,” said a local source.
