After Friday prayers, hundreds protest against CAA at Delhi’s Jama Masjid

It was one of the coldest days in Delhi, but that failed to deter protesters in Delhi who came out in large numbers to express their discontent against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA. 

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Jama Masjid in Old City area, and raised slogans against the new legislation and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). Many of them gathered there after offering Friday prayers at the mosque.

“Is desh ko NRC, NPR nahi chaiye. Is desh ko rozgaar chahiye. Is desh ko aman aur shanti chahiye (This country does not need NRC, NPR, it needs jobs. The country needs peace and amity),” a protester said.

The protesters, who were carrying placards that read ‘Save the Constitution, don’t divide India’, appealed to the people to remain non-violent.

Congress leader Alka Lamba and former Delhi MLA Shoaib Iqbal were among the hundreds of protesters who joined the demonstration.

“It is very essential to raise the voice of democracy for the country and for the Constitution. A central government cannot become dictatorial and impose it agenda on people,” Lamba said.

There were protests at other locations too in Delhi. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) closed the entry and exit gates of Lok Kalyan Marg (LKM), near the Prime Minister’s residence after protesters marched towards the PM’s house demanding release of Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad.

“Entry & exit gates of Lok Kalyan Marg are closed. Trains will not be halting at this station,” the DMRC said on Twitter.

Azad was arrested for allegedly instigating protesters to indulge in violence in old Delhi’s Daryaganj in an inflammatory speech last Friday.

Amid heavy security arrangement and drone surveillance, the protesters including Bhim Army members started from Dargah Shah-e-Mardan in Jor Bagh in the national capital and were stopped by police at a barricade en route the PM’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg.

Some protesters were also detained from outside the Uttar Pradesh Bhawan.