Celebrities, activists join protesters at Shaheen Bagh to celebrate New Year

New Delhi: When the hotels, bars and restaurants were full in attendance with people celebrating New Year, hundreds of people were seen gathering at the anti-CAA protest site at Shaheen Bagh.

Several people including activists, artists, social workers duped their new year party plan to be a part of the protest on December 31 when the year merges into 2020.

Actor Zeeshan Ayyub also joined the protest at Shaheen Bagh after he visited Zakir Nagar where people have been standing with candles and placards in their hands. Zeeshan in solidarity with the protesters also motivated the protesters. He has been quite vocal on the CAA issue.

"I have come to Zakir Nagar first and would go to Shaheen Bagh where people in large numbers are protesting," Zeeshan Ayyub told Millennium Post before rushing to Shaheen Bagh from Zakir Nagar where a large number of women are also silently protesting with candles and banners in their hands against CAA.

Several social activists were also present at Shaheen Bagh where the protesters mostly women have been sitting on the protest since the past 16 days. The women now widely covered in media and social media have been braving the chilly Delhi weather along with their small children. They have been sitting under a tent and also sleeping on the roads holding placards in their hands.

A call through social media platform was made to come to Shaheen Bagh and celebrate the New year with the protesters instead of celebrating elsewhere.

As the word spread, lots of people were seen posting their plans on social media to go to Shaheen Bagh for celebration.

The crowd swelled at around 10 pm. A lot of men were seen holding tiranga in their hands and several others had candles.

The students and artists were also seen singing patriotic songs in several groups amidst various speeches made by activists and others.

"We have been doing this protest for a long time now. Nothing can deter us. We have always stood for what is right and would continue to do so," said Sadaf , a protester at Shaheen Bagh.

As women could be seen with razai and quilts on the road, several people distributed tea, snacks, biryani, sweets and other eatables at the protest site. Some have even donated wood logs to keep the protesters warm.