Referring to ongoing stir at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, Union Minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad Monday claimed that the protests are becoming a "textbook case of a few hundred people trying to suppress the silent majority". "It is offering platform to 'tukde tukde gang' elements under the garb of opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. This protest is not just a protest against CAA it is a protest against Modi," Prasad said while addressing a press conference in the national capital. He also claimed that those who want to divide India are getting cover at the Shaheen Bagh protest. "Lakhs of people are distressed because they can not go to office, shops are shut and their children are not able to go to school due to road block by Shaheen Bagh protesters," he claimed. Shaheen bagh has been the centre of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) since December 15. On the occasion of Republic Day, the women in the area hoisted the national flag amid chants of “samvidhan ki raksha, desh ki raksha”. The flag hoisting ceremony was joined by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Junaid Khan and the ‘dadis of Shaheen Bagh’, Asma Khatoon (90), Bilkis Bano (82) and Sarwari (75) on Sunday morning. Hundreds thronged the protest site in a sea of tricolour — in the artwork at the site, on sashes, ribbons, caps and clothes worn by people, and the paint on their faces — and sang the national anthem in unison. The celebrations had begun at midnight, with thousands reading the Preamble and singing the national anthem.
