Bengaluru: Citizens of Bengaluru joined their counterparts in New Delhi and other parts of the country to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act that was recently passed in Parliament.
High drama prevailed on Monday evening in front of Town Hall as the police tried to disperse protesters gathered there on the pretext that permission was not given for the protest. Some of the protestors were bundled into a bus and released later.
A large posse of police personnel was deployed along with a team of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) to control the protesters, while water jets were stationed at the venue. Nearly 20 police vehicles and hundreds of policemen were stationed who cordoned off the area.
Over 800 people including students and leaders from Congress and JD(S) gathered to protest, which was organised by the All-India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO).
Crowds started swelling around 4.30 pm. Jayanagar MLA Sowmya Reddy, JD(S) spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed, former IAS officer S. Sasikanth Senthil and activists from various organisations took part in the protest.
Around 150 police officers, including Chetan Singh Rathore, DCP (Central), had cordoned off the entry into the Town Hall by erecting barricades. This led to an altercation between the protesters and police.
Mr Rathore was forced to intervene and he took the protesters into confidence saying that it is mandatory to obtain prior permission to hold a protest. He appealed to the protesters to place a request at his office and obtain permission.
Mr Rathore also requested party leaders Sowmya Reddy and Tanveer Ahmed to leave, terming the protest an unlawful assembly.
Mr Senthil, said, “Protest is absolutely warranted as what happened yesterday will go down as a dark day in the history of the country. I have always said that this regime is against universities and independent institutions. Chasing students into their college campuses and beating them up is shameful. I appeal to all the students to express their solidarity against such attacks in a peaceful manner.”
Ms Sowmya Reddy said that just because BJP has a brute majority they cannot pass the bill against the people’s mandate. “Citizens have every right to protests against CAA. We have gathered here to pressurise the Centre to realise that the entire process is coercion and against the people’s decision,” she said.
Tanveer Ahmed said the police were forcing the protesters to leave although the protests are peaceful and are devoid of weapons.
Later, protesters carried out a signature campaign and said they would stage a similar protest in the coming days after seeking police permission.
