Bandra protest draws hundreds as Mumbai gears up for Kranti Maidan

Even as the city prepares to participate in one of the biggest protests to be held against the Citizenship Amendment Act CAA today at the August Kranti Maidan a similar one was held at Carter Road in Bandra on Wednesday evening More than 300 people voluntarily took part to take forward the students movement unfolding in the countryAs the protest started on the scheduled time more and more people joined eventually to add vigour to the event Not only collegians but young working professionals too made it a point to be present to show support for the movement Slogans like Hindu Muslim ek hai Modi Shah fek hai Jo Hitlar ki chal chalega nahi rahega nahi rahega and Inquilab Zindabad were heard from among the crowdAs more and more people joined the Preamble of the constitution was read out It was followed by a pledge created by the students organisations against CAA The Preamble of the Indian constitution is very different from those of other countries as it has no mention of god in the beginning This clearly shows the secularity of the constitution But the CAA is exactly opposite of it By standing against the CAA we are standing with the constitution of India which is clearly more important to ensure the countrys secular status Citizenship cannot be based on religion said Fahad Ahmand former president of the TISS Students Union The pledge reads as The CAA is full of discrimination and is completely against the principles of the Indian constitution We do not accept this Act and pledge to not present any form of documents to prove citizenshipTwentyfiveyearold Jeffin Jose a Keralite who works in Mumbai said Whatever may be the details of the Act it is clearly unconstitutional as it is discriminating on the basis of religion If you are allowing other people citizenship allow it to all and do not exclude some based on their religionHe further said Though support from political parties is needed the good part is that the absence of the support is ensuring the sanctity of the students movementSarang Sathay founder of Bharatiya Digital Party popularly known as BhaDIPa ndash a digital entertainment portal very popular among young Maharashtrians also participated in the protestSarang said I am glad to be a part of the movement It is also overwhelming to see the kind of support it is gaining through messages circulated on social mediaOf the many senior citizens who had joined the protest S Ramanathan said The students movement is commendable and the enthusiasm with which everybody is participating is something noteworthy No government can declare an Act without taking peoples opinion about it let alone excluding an entire community The government is answerable and cannot revolt with violence as they did in JamiaMeanwhile another gathering will take place today near the Churchgate station in support of CAA Using MumbaiWithCAA messages are being circulated on social media asking people to gather at the venue at 5pmPrecautionary measuresIn view of the violence at Jamia Millia Islamia University student bodies taking part in the August Kranti Maidan protest have taken precautionary measures The organisers of the protest are circulating messages on social media to create awareness so that a similar situation can be avoided Fahad Ahmand former president of the TISS Students Union said We have prepared a set of guidelines for the protest This is being done to ensure that there is no violence at the protest venue because that will divert attention from the main cause We are expecting a huge crowd at the August Kranti Maidan But when we take up a fight based on principles we should not forget our responsibilities There can be miscreants present in the crowd who might resort to some kind of violence to distort the objective of the protest It is our responsibility as protesters to keep a vigil and not fall prey to such actsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates