Maharashtra: Govt will try to ensure CAA, NRC are not implemented, says Varsha Gaikwad

Gaikwad, a Congress MLA, after hearing student leaders speak at the gathering, pointed out that “this is how revolutions start” and that this is a “fight of ideologies”.

The event was also attended by activist Umar Khalid, who took on Minister Aditya Thackeray. “Today, I’m here only because Aaditya Thackeray is not there. Had he been here, I would not have shared the stage with him. His stand on NPR is still not clear. On a personal level, the man who had shot me was given a ticket by Shiv Sena.” He was referring to Naveen Dalal, accused of attacking Khalid last year. Dalal was Sena’s candidate from Bahadurgarh for the recent Haryana polls.

The Shiv Sena has distanced itself from the conference organised at Y B Chavan Centre in Nariman Point. Pamphlets with Aaditya’s name were rolled back by organisers on Saturday, after the Sena leader cited his inability to attend the conference due to a busy schedule. Khalid demanded that all non-BJP ruled states should make their stand clear on NPR, NRC and CAA. “The government will first send its people to everyone’s homes to make a population register, from which it will make a list of doubtful citizens and these citizens will have to stand in queue with documents to prove their citizenship. It is equally important that we oppose NPR first.”

Khalid urged Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, to manage his own affairs. “We Indians are protesting against CAA, as we do not want India to turn into a Pakistan,” he said, while also condemning a mob attack on Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Lahore where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev was born.

Salman Imtiyaz, president of Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union, said students not involved in AMU protests were also being beaten up by police on campus. Lok Bharati’s Kapil Patil urged students to participate in at a protest on January 24.