Kalbe Sadiq meets women protesters at Clock Tower, extends support
LUCKNOW: All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) vice president and renowned Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq on Friday went to the Clock Tower here and extended support to the women protestors, whose peaceful agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register for Citizens (NRC) completed eight days.
Other than the Clock Tower, the anti-CAA protest also continued in Ujariaon here.
“I appreciate the courage with which the women are staging the sit-in in this chilly winter,” said Maulana Sadiq.
The cleric, while motivating the women protestors, said that they should continue to stage the silent protest, “which is also our constitutional right.”
Besides, he also slammed the UP government for disconnecting power supply at Clock Tower and snatching away the blankets of the women protesters “to demoralise them.” He termed the government’s act as ‘condemnable’.
The protestors, meanwhile, continued the stage sit-in and chanted anti-CAA slogans while demanding its rollback.
The protest against CAA and NRC, which was started by a group of women at Clock Tower on January 17, has so far remained leaderless and people have joined in without any public appeal for support.
A group of Sikh women also joined the protest and organised prayers, saying they are here to show solidarity with these brave women who have been protesting against the divisive act.
Meanwhile, members of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) formed a human chain near Clock Tower in solidarity with the women protesters. Office bearer of AIDWA Madhu Garg said, “A myth that CAA and NRC only concerns Muslims is being spread. To break this myth, women from all religions formed a human chain. CAA and NRC will impact people of all communities.”
Earlier, the women protesters organised ‘havan’ and Quran recitation at the site. They also conducted reading of the Preamble and the Constitution. Various women’s groups and social activists have extended their support to the protest.
A group of advocates also participated and assured the protesters of legal aid if they were arrested.
The protesters spend their time reading the Constitution, singing the national anthem and patriotic songs and writing anti-NRC and anti-CAA messages on the pavement in front of the Clock Tower. All these activities take place simultaneously.
On the day Lucknow Universtiy student leader Ankit Singh Babu along with his supporters also went to Clock Tower to extend support to the ongoing protest. “We went there in our personal capacity and there was no political motive behind it,” said Babu, who is a member of Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha.
Similar to Clock Tower protest, women continued their protest at a ‘dargah’ in Ujariaon here. This protest began on Monday evening.
