Anti-CAA protest withdrawn temporarily from Park Circus amid Corona threat

Kolkata: The Anti Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest at Park Circus Maidan which started

on the lines of Shaheen Bagh has

been withdrawn temporarily in the wake of the grappling COVID-19 situation.

"We have temporarily withdrawn our 'Swadhinata Andolan 2.0' at the Park Circus Maidan on its 77th day due to the Coronavirus outbreak in the country. However, there will be seven women at the dharna manch. This apart, there will be clothes and slippers with the name of women protestors written on it to remind people of their existence," said a 45-year-old homemaker Asmat Jamil, organiser of the 'Swadhinata Andolan 2.0' at Park Circus Maidan.

The protest began on the night of January 7 with the sit-in agitation by 60 Muslim women at the Park Circus Maidan, christened as 'Kolkata's Shaheen Bagh'. They demanded the withdrawal of National Register of Citizens (NRC), CAA and National Population of Register (NPR). The round-the-clock Park Circus Maidan protest has gained significant momentum.

The decision to withdraw the 'Swadhinata Andolan 2.0' comes following a meeting conducted by Imam Shafique Qasmi of Nakhoda Masjid, Imam-e-Eidain Maulana Qari Fazlur Rahman and other clerics.

"We conducted a meeting on Monday morning and decided that the anti- CAA protest at Zakaria Street will be withdrawn in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. The organisers of anti-CAA protest at Belgachia, Raja Bazar, Park Circus, and Howrah have also been asked to withdraw their sit-in to avoid gathering in a bid stop the probability of the spread of the deadly disease," said Qasmi.

"The 'Swadhinata Andolan 2.0' will resume once the Coronavirus pandemic is under control," said Md Mahmood, a volunteer of the 'Swadhinata Andolan 2.0'.