Despite the State government’s appeal to the people to stay at home to contain the spread of COVID-19, the cadre of the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath took to the streets in their thousands on Wednesday to participate in a pan-Tamil Nadu agitation to demand the withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens.
A day earlier, the Shaheen Bagh-style protests at Old Washermenpet were suspended as a precautionary measure.
While thousands took part in street protests, a ‘fill the jails’ initiative was given up in the wake of a public health advisory urging the people to avoid large gatherings. The TNTJ’s decision to risk a COVID-19 outbreak by mobilising thousands across Tamil Nadu drew sharp criticism from various quarters, including sympathisers.
When asked why the TNTJ pressed ahead with the protests, Abdur Rahman, a spokesperson for the organisation, said, “When we announced it (after meeting the Chief Secretary on Saturday), the situation was not this serious. We understand the urgency of the issue. We went ahead with the protests since these steps were only considered precautionary. We decided to scale down our protests once the situation became serious.”
Mr. Rahman added that the TNTJ did not want the protest, which was being organised to safeguard the rights of Indians, to end up affecting the larger society.
“We reduced the duration of the protest to just one hour and also didn’t push for our arrests after the police told us that lodging us in a marriage hall was not feasible due to the coronavirus scare. We are suspending all protests until further notice and will find other ways to protest,” he said.
