Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran at Shaheen Bagh. (Photo Credit: ANI)
New Delhi:
Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran have reached Shaheen Bagh for the second round of talks with protestors who are observing sit-in against the Amended Citizenship Act (CAA) for over 2 months. The interlocutors once again said that they would not hold talks in the presence of the media. Senior lawyers had met the protesters on Wednesday also.
During the first meeting, Shaheen Bagh protesters openly talked about their right to protest and whey they fear the Citizenship (amended) Act and NRC. They also criticized the government for not talking to them directly. While hearing the protesters, Hegde did say that he was impressed by the views.
"We are unable to sleep at night and every woman is scared here. Our religion does not allow us to commit suicide but each day is killing us. Our condition is like patients who seek mercy killings," a protester said. The protest site witnessed firing earlier this month, triggering panic. Many women said they had been living in the area since generations.
"If you have daughters like you in India, then the country can never be threatened," Ramachandran said after listening protesters.
On February 17, the Supreme Court-appointed senior counsel Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran as interlocutors to talk to Shaheen Bagh protesters. In a stern observation, the top court said, “when strong views emerge, you cannot say don't put forth your strong views. Those things don't trouble us. The only thing troubling is the blocking of a public road.”
The apex court further said, “people have fundamental right to protest but the thing which is troubling us is blocking of public roads. Democracy works on expressing views but there are lines and boundaries for it.”
The top court also added, “if nothing works, we will leave it to authorities to deal with the situation.”
