New Delhi: To protest police high-handedness against students of Jamia Millia University, at the direction of the Modi Government at the Centre, thousands of Congress workers, under the leadership of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shri Subhash Chopra, held a demonstration outside the Delhi Police Headquarters at ITO today. The demonstrators demanded stringent action against those responsible for the attack on students.
Besides DPCC president Shri Subhash Chopra, prominent others who participated in the demonstration were Shri Jai Prakash Agarwal, Shri Arvinder Singh Lovely, Shri Kirti Azad, Shri Jagdish Tytler, Shri Udit Raj, Smt. Krishna Tirath, Shri Ramesh Kumar, Shri Parvez Hashmi, chief spokesperson Shri Mukesh Sharma, Ch. Mateen Ahmed, Asif Mohammed Khan, Dr Kiran Walia and Dr Narendra Nath. The demonstrators shouted slogans against the Modi Government and Delhi Police.
The Congress demonstrators, upset and angry at the police action against the students, shouted slogans against both as they marched toward the Police Headquarters at ITO from the DPCC office, Rajiv Bhawan. They shouted slogans such as “Jantantra Pe Gan Ki Maar, Atyachari Modi Sarkar”, “Chhatro Par Goli Chalway, Wo Sarkar Nikkami Hai”, “Chhatro Par Danda Barsaye-Wo Sarkar Nikammi Hai, Jo Sarkar Nikammi Hai-Wo Sarkar Badalni Hai”, “Chhatro Par Dando Se Prahar, Damankari Modi Sarkar”, “Chhatro Par Goli Ki Maar, Sharam Karo-Modi Sarkar”, and “Chhatro Par Police Ka Atyachar, Sharam Karo-Modi Sarkar”.
As the Congress workers defied the police barricades to march toward the Police Headquarters, police used force to stop them, which led to clashes.
Addressing the demonstrators, Shri Subhash Chopra said that Delhi Police’s high-handed action against the students of Jamia Millia University was at the direction of the Modi Government as it wants to crush the voice of reason. He said that instead of ensuring peace and happiness, the Modi Government, through Delhi Police, was trying to create fear and insecurity among the people. He said that the only intention of the Modi Government was religious polarization through the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Shri Subhash Chopra said that the wrong policies of the Modi Government has not only created an economic distress and free fall of the GDP, but also unemployment, price rise, farm and industrial sector crises, stoppage of development works, and to divert the attention of the people, this Act was passed to incite a tinderbox situation across the country. Shri Chopra said that the Indian Constitution ensures equality for all religions and castes, and therefore the Citizenship Amendment Act was totally unconstitutional, and also violates the core principles of the Constitution. Shri Chopra demanded immediate withdrawal of this Act to restore normalcy not only in Delhi, but also across the country.
Shri Jai Prakash Agarwal, Shri Arvinder Singh Lovely and Shri Parvez Hashmi, strongly condemning the action by the Police against the Jamia students yesterday, said that this showed its failure to deal with a peaceful agitation, which will not be tolerated by a peace-loving society. They said that the Congress party has always protected secularism and religious freedom.
Shri Arvinder Singh Lovely, endorsing his support to the students of Jamia, said that the police action against the students was a blot on the image of independent India and Indian democracy.
Kirti Azad and Shri Mukesh Sharma said that the Citizenship Amendment Act was a calculated attempt by the Modi Government to bloom lotus by spreading dirt all across. He said that the students of Jamia have every right to hold a peaceful march to register their protest, but the Modi Government was using the police to suppress such peaceful protests. They asserted that Delhi Congress fully supports the Jamia students’ agitation and their right to hold peaceful demonstrations.
Ch. Mateen Ahmed and Shri Asif Mohammed Khan unanimously slammed the police action against the Jamia students which they felt was a gross violation of the students’ fundamental right to hold peaceful demonstrations. They said that the Modi Government was directly responsible for the explosive situation prevailing in the country. They asserted that India belong to all, and people have the right to express their views, and any attempt to muffle the voice of the people will be met with strong resistance.
Others present in the demonstration were Ex-MLAs Surender Kumar, Tarwinder Singh Marwah, Veer Singh Dhingan, Vipin Sharma, Neeraj Basoya, Vinay Sharma, Alka Lamba, Darshna Ramkumar, Malaram Gangwal, Municipal Councillors Abhishek Dutt, Rinku and Prerna Singh, Jitender Kochar Jitu, DCC presidents Mohd. Usman, Kailash Jain, Dinesh Kumar Advocate, Rajesh Chauhan, Vishnu Swaroop Aggarwal, Hari Kishan Jindal, Pradeep Sharma, A.R. Joshi, Virender Kasana, Madan Khorwal, Gurcharan Singh Raju, Ex Mayor Satvir Singh, Varyam Kaur, Shivani Chopra, Pushpa Singh, Indu, Praveen Bhugra, Amit Malik, C.P. Mittal, Shiv Bhatia, Khavinder Singh Captain, Ali Mehndi, Mirza Javed Ali, Naushad, Sachin Bidhuri, Abdul Wahid Qureshi, Sandeep Tanwar, Rajat Makkar and Onika Mehrotra.
