· Large number of women have been congregating at the private ground to support their sisters at Shaheen Bagh and protest against CAA
Drawing strength from the women of Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of the silent CAA and NRC protests in the country, women in Vadodara gathered at Saudagar Park in Tandalja for a protest on Tuesday evening.
Carrying placards, the women, young and old, began arriving in large numbers on Tuesday evening, raising slogans and criticising the government for the contentious Act.
The silent protest had begun on January 31; the women gathered and began reciting verses from the Koran. However, they were quite few in number. As word spread, more people began joining in.
On Monday night, the protestors began raising slogans against CAA and NRC and also brought along placards with them to voice their objection to the government’s decision.
On Tuesday evening, the protest gathered pace at the park after they completed reciting the religious verses in unison.
Talking to FNP, Ashfaq Sheikh said, “We started a peaceful protest. Every evening, women and men from the community will gather here to raise their voice. We will invite constitutional experts to educate us on the rights of Indian citizens. The group will also conduct prayers and urge the government to repeal the Act.”
According to sources, it has been decided that every evening, between 8 pm and 11 pm, more than 500 people including local leaders will congregate at Saudagar Park.
Saumya Patel, a young protestor leading the group, said, “The CAA is against the Constitution which is the soul of India. The government is trying to hurt our soul and trying to divert the attention of people from core issues with decisions like CAA.”
Talking to FNP, ACP Alpesh Rajgour said, “The leaders of the area met us and discussed the entire programme. We have also informed the senior officials about the same.”
JCP Kesrisinh Bhatti said, “We have not given any permission for the protest. The gathering is in a private society ground and we have warned them that if any untoward incident takes place, the police will take strict action against them.”
Meanwhile, Vadodara police has issued a notification stating Section 144 is in place since January 29.