The protesters at Shaheen Bagh are not opposed to the opening of a road parallel to the spot where they have organised a demonstration against the new citizenship law, if the Supreme Court orders the Delhi Police to ensure their safety, court-appointed interlocutors Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran said after the third round of talks on Friday.
The police have said that the protesters have not blocked the parallel road, but they have barricaded it to provide security to the protesters.
The third round of talks between the protesters and the two senior advocates was held on Friday evening, with Hegde and Ramachandran discussing the possibility of opening at least one carriageway of Road Number 13A. The road, which connects Noida to South East Delhi and Faridabad, was closed for traffic in after the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest began at Shaheen Bagh on December 15 last year.
“In principle, the protesters were not fundamentally against opening of the non-protest side of the road if their security could be guaranteed in writing by the Delhi Police under suitable orders of the Supreme Court,” a statement released by the interlocutors said. The interlocutors told the protesters that their concerns would “honestly” be conveyed to the apex court.
The road blockade has led to big traffic jams in and around Ashram and parts of south Delhi, with other Noida-Delhi connections, such as the Nizamuddin bridge, also being hit.
{{/usCountry}}The road blockade has led to big traffic jams in and around Ashram and parts of south Delhi, with other Noida-Delhi connections, such as the Nizamuddin bridge, also being hit.
{{/usCountry}}On Wednesday and Thursday, Ramachandran and Hegde stood on a dais and interacted with protesters using wireless microphones. On Friday, they chose not to take the stage. Instead, they walked in an open space between two groups of seated protesters as hundreds of others stood on the road outside to listen to the discussions.
The talks on Friday began with loud shouts by protesters even as Ramachandran urged them to speak in “one voice”. “We are
all leaders,” responded a protester.
Hegde then went on to assure the protesters that the interlocutors were with them. “The Constitution says that protesting is your right,” said Hegde.
He added that no individual had the right to cause inconvenience to others.
The protesters then took the microphone to say how the police had closed certain roads around Shaheen Bagh unnecessarily.
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 block one of the carriageways, while the other is partially occupied with tents and structures, such as a replica of the 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.
In the statement, the interlocutors said: “Because we were at closer proximity with the protestors we could get a good sense of their anxiety, their pain, their fears particularly with regard to their security.”
“We will not be holding a public interaction tomorrow (Saturday) to enable the protesters to come to an independent conclusion as to the way forward. We will return on Sunday only if
we deem it necessary and feasible to do so,” the senior advocates said.