Bhubaneswar: The Capital city, Thursday, witnessed an unprecedented march against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in response to a united call given by progressive political organisations, social groups, academics, artists and students in the state under the banner ‘We the People of India’ on the occasion of Martyrs’ Day observed on the occasion of 72nd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
A united forum of political, social, intellectuals, scheduled cast, scheduled tribe, minorities, students, human rights activists, members of transgender society and others took part in the rally from Exhibition ground to Lower PMG Square where it culminated in a meeting.
The road between the Exhibition ground and Master Canteen saw thousands of protestors who participated in a rally from Exhibition ground towards Lower PMG with placards and banners denouncing CAA, NPR and NRC and raising slogans for saving the Constitution, democracy and diversity in India.
After reaching the Mahatma Gandhi Marg, they read the Preamble of the Constitution. The speakers at the rally reminded the people about the circumstances and forces under which Gandhi ji was killed and how they have reappeared now with greater aggression and determination to reduce the minorities particularly Muslims and the resource poor dalits and adivasis to that of second class Citizens.
Prabhat Panigrahi, member of the group, ‘We the People of India’, said CAA is a design to demonize a great majority of Indians who don’t share the idea of Hindu Rastra visualized by BJP government. At a time when unemployment, food price, agricultural crisis and financial instability have reached a dismal point, the government instead of tackling them has resorted to marginalize the citizens of the country by enacting anti human and undemocratic policies like the CAA, NRC and the NPR.
“The fight is between the people of the country and Government. The government is in back foot now because it had failed in providing employment to the youth and is not doing great economically. Instead of fixing the problems, they are creating a rift between communities and trying to break the country’s unity,” he added.
Narendra Mohanty, another protester, said the mission will not end with the march today. Rather this was just the beginning and that the message will be taken forward to all regional and local levels. “We also appealed the Naveen Pattnaik government to follow the example set up by Kerala and other states and resolve not to allow CAA, NRC and NPR in Odisha,” he said.
Prafulla Samantray, tribal leader said, “We organised this protest on death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi who gave his life for the unity of our country which the present government is trying to break.
Meanwhile, several state congress leader including Niranjan Patnaik, Suresh Kumar Routray and others organised a protest rally at Lower PMG. They held the union government responsible for the present anarchy the nation is in.