Can vacate one carriageway if our safety is guaranteed, Shaheen Bagh protesters tell interlocutors

The third round of talks between Shaheen Bagh protesters and Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors on Friday was more informal and focused, as lawyers Sadhana Ramachandran

The third round of talks between Shaheen Bagh protesters and Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors on Friday was more informal and focused, as lawyers Sadhana Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde discussed with protesters the possibility of opening at least one carriageway of Road Number 13A.

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The protesters told the Supreme Court-appointed mediators that they need written assurances for their safety if one carriageway was opened for traffic. On this, the interlocutors told the agitators that their concerns would “honestly” be conveyed to the Supreme Court.

Road no. 13A — which connects Delhi with Noida — has been blocked for the last 68 days by agitators, led by elderly women, protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The road blockade has led to massive traffic jams in and around Ashram and parts of south Delhi, with other Noida-Delhi connections, such as the Nizamuddin bridge, also being hit severely.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Ramachandran and Hegde had stood on a dias and interacted with protesters using wireless microphones. On Friday, they chose not to take the stage. Instead, they walked in open space between two groups of seated protesters as hundreds of others stood on the road outside to listen to the discussions that was being relayed on loudspeakers.

Hegde then went on to assure the protesters that the interlocutors were with them. “The Constitution says that protesting is your right,” said Hegde, later, however, adding that no individual has a right to cause inconvenience to others.

The protesters then took the microphone to allege how the police had closed certain roads around Shaheen Bagh unneccesarily. “See how the police opened one road (near Okhla Bird Sanctuary metro station), but closed it within 30 minutes. It shows that some roads can be made available for motorists,” said one woman.

The talks soon veered towards the possibility of opening one of the two carriageways of the road the protesters have been blocking since mid-December. The stage and tent set up by the protesters totally blocks one of the carriageways, while the other is partially occupied with tents and structures, such as a replica of India Gate and a large iron frame of the Indian map.

Pointing to the shooting incident that took place outside Jamia in January, the protesters said they didn’t trust the police. “We want the police to give us in writing that we will be safe and secure,” said a woman.

The demands also saw a local police officer briefly addressing the crowd about the possibility of opening that carriageway, but his voice was soon drowned in a din.

The protesters maintained that they needed written and legal assurances from the government that the CAA and NRC would be repealed if they are to call off the sit-in.

By the end of the talks, Hegde told the gathering that while the Supreme Court would decide the future course of action, the mediators would communicate all their concerns to the Apex court. “We have heard you. We will convey your concerns to the court, we will do it honestly,” he told the protesters.

The day had seen an additional surge of protesters at the venue by late afternoon, a fact organisers attributed to the Friday prayers. They waited from 2.30pm to hear the interlocutors, who finally arrived around 6.30pm. Before their arrival, the announcers had told the gathering that the talks on Friday should revolve around opening of roads.

“Do not speak together. Let us raise our issues, one by one, in a disciplined manner. We must insist with them to get certain roads opened which the police have unnecessarily barricaded all this while,” one announcer said.