Farmers Movement Archive

Protesters gathered against ‘hate’ run into police wall

New Delhi: A handful of protesters who had come to Jantar Mantar to express anger about the communal sloganeering during an event on Sunday were detained before they could properly organise their protest on Tuesday. The 20-30 people had congregated near a bank on Parliament Street and were to proceed to the protest site from there. Following a call for the march on Twitter, police barricaded the approaches to Jantar Mantar. “The farmers' protest had been specially permitted by Delhi Disaster Management Authority, but after it ended on Monday, no other gathering has been allowed at Jantar Mantar,” explained a police officer. Before the protesters could organise themselves, the public announcement system blared that Section 144 CrPC prohibiting public assembly was in place at Jantar Mantar and no demonstrations would be permitted. The cops also instructed the protesters to maintain social distancing before packing them into buses. The detained protesters were later let off. Ahtesham Qadri, 24, had come from Janakpuri with his friends for the event. He said “For some time now, people have been giving speeches and raising slogans against religious minorities. We have no problem with any religion and, in fact, the beauty of our country is that we all are different flowers growing from the same pot. But the kind of sloganeering that took place on Sunday shows the mentality of some people and everyone should condemn such things.”

The Times of India

2021-08-10

Delhi