Five detained in Chennai for drawing anti-CAA ‘kolams’

https://twitter.com/MumbaiCentral/status/1211136166088458240

“We never granted permission for their protest. Though it’s a kolam protest, it is against the law, they cannot obstruct traffic. We asked them to leave, but they refused. So we detained them,” a police officer told indianexpess.com. The police added that the protesters tried to draw kolams in front of every house, causing a nuisance for residents.

The protesters were identified as Gayathri, Aarthi, Kalyani, Pragathi and Madan. One of the protesters released a video on social media, claiming they had been detained and the “Tamil Nadu police would be responsible if anything happens to them”.

The protest started at 8 am in the 4th avenue at Besant Nagar. Students and some of the residents took part in the protest by drawing kolams on the streets.

After the news of their detention spread, people began to gather near the venue and some lawyers and social activists tried getting in touch with the protesters. Two senior lawyers were also detained by the J5 Besant Nagar police.

Protestors were forcefully detained by the city police.

DMK leader MK Stalin said by detaining the protesters, the government has denied them fundamental rights present under the Constitution. “The cases registered against them should be withdrawn, the earthworm government should respect human rights,” he tweeted.

Speaking to indianexpres.com, Gayathri, one of the those detained, said the police find their dissent “irritating and silly”, and that’s the reason they detained them.

“Why do I need permission for drawing a kolam? The police held us on the grounds of unlawful assembly, I am a lawyer and I know what unlawful assembly is. No more than two or three of us were standing together, we weren’t raising slogans, we weren’t holding any placard. It was a peaceful protest, we just wanted to send out a message of love. When we informed our lawyer friends regarding the police intervention, they came to the place to support us. And suddenly, two of my lawyer friends were detained by the police. This is almost like Emergency 2.0,” she said.

Gayathri added that the government wants the public to remain silent and not show any dissent even if it is acting against the Constitution. “Every single permission we sought was denied by the commissioner. On one hand, they ask why we didn’t seek permission, and on the other hand, they deny us permission. Then how will people show their dissent?” she added.

Responding to the police claim that the protestors tried to draw kolams in front of every house in Besant Nagar and caused a public nuisance, Gayathri said it was a “blatant lie”. “We sought permission from the watchmen and from the people, only then did we draw kolams in front of their homes. We didn’t obstruct traffic. There were just six of us, close to 30-40 police personnel surrounded us. They were the ones who caused public nuisance. We didn’t use graffiti paint, we didn’t use paint, it was just kola maavu. It will take two seconds to pour a bucket of water on it and wash it off. Their problem is not kolams, their problem is our dissent,” she added.