IAF vet: Reading the Constitution ain’t a protest, it\'s a fundamental right

BENGALURU: An Indian Air Force veteran, Itisha, who read the Constitution at an anti-CAA protest here braving the authorities’ efforts to block her said the police denied permission to the event on specious grounds.

The event at Town Hall, a defiant reading of the Constituion, was organized by Vikram Vincent. Itisha said, “We sought permission, but it came with subject to Rs 1 lakh surety and Vikram Vincent being charged as accused under CrPC 107. This conflicts with the right to peacefully assemble and read the Constitution," she said.

“Vikram accepted the permission and signed it with a remark ‘subject to judicial review’. To that, the DCP Central revoked the permission and released a refusal letter on grounds that the procedure was not followed,” she said.

However, the IAF veteran stayed on till 10 pm and read the Constitution.

"This is not a protest. We were reading the Constitution. That is our fundamental right,” she said.

DCP (Bengaluru Central) Chetan Singh Rathore said the permission to protest beyond 7 pm was not given since the protesters were not ready to sign a bond saying there would be no breach of peace.

The event witnessed sloganeering and plays by schoolchildren criticizing the Citizenship Amndment Act.

One protester, Firdaus, said Mahatma Gandhi was shot with three bullets, and now three bullets – CAA, NPR and NRC – were putting the nation's foundation at risk.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is only interested in his Mann ki Baat, but not the citizens' Mann ki Baat. Anyone protesting against the government is labelled anti-national. They have called us puncture-wallahs. Yes, we are here to repair punctures as they have punctured the nation with economic slowdown," she said.

The protesters observed 30 seconds of silence for those who died during anti-CAA protests across the country.

Artist Varun Grover's poem, Kaagaz Nahin Dikhayenge, was recited during the protests.