Kolkata: Congress stalwart P Chidambaram on Friday joined the women protesters who are demonstrating an indefinite sit-in, inspired by Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, at Kolkata’s Park Circus Maidan to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed nationwide NRC.
Protesters were in for a surprise as Chidambaram entered the Maidan around 10.30pm with local Congress leader and son of Bengal party president Somendra Nath Mitra, Rohan.
The former foreign minister interacted with the protesters and expressed his full support.
Meanwhile, Mitra said, “He will hold workshop on Saturday with the party workers and leaders to chalk out the future course on the citizenship law issues. He will also clear doubts among the party workers on the citizenship issue.”
About 100 women are determined to carry on with their demonstration indefinitely till there is a "favourable judgement". The sit-in by the women, ranging from homemakers to professionals, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) on the lines of the Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi, entered its 12th day on Saturday.
One of the protestors Nauseen Baba Khan, a young research scholar, at the dharna site, said, "It is a do-or-die battle. We will peacefully squat here till there is a judgement in our favour."
Another woman participant Farhat Islam, a homemaker, said, "We have been sitting in the open, braving the cold, using the ladies toilet in the nearby mosque located 100 metres away, for the past 10 days, but did not ever think about quitting."
The PM had said 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' and now the BJP wants to turn bonafide Indians into second class citizens in the name of the CAA, she said.
"It is a challenge to right to life, right to livelihood, and we can't take this. When your citizenship is gone - your money, property and job - everything becomes useless. It is another way of killing us. We are happy that the civil society is here to support us," Farhat said.
After 10 days of the sit-in, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Authorities have provided three-four bio-toilets and other basic amenities for the women at the sprawling Park Circus Maidan on January 17, she added.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an event in Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium, accused political rivals of “misleading” people into protesting against the new Citizenship law, which, he said, is “non-discriminatory”.
However, opposition parties including Congress and TMC vehemently opposed PM Modi’s statement and demanded the Act be rolled back.
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