In the wake of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s mega rally in Kolkata on Sunday, Left and Congress student wing organizations are gearing up to hold protest marches. Shah’s rally at Shahid Minar which is meant to spread the message on Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) is hoping to see a turnout of 1 lakh supporters according to the BJP. The protest rallies by Congress and Left on the other hand are centred around the Centre’s decision to introduce the CAA, National Register of Citizenship(NRC) and National Population Register(NPR).
This is the first time Shah is visiting Kolkata after CAA was introduced in the country. Left student groups in Jadavpur University are preparing to take out protest rallies. “We cannot welcome the instigator of riots. We will definitely protest Amit Shah’s visit,” said Subhadeep Bandhopadhyay of SFI.
Minority parties like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind said that they will hold peaceful protest rallies from Moulali to Dharamtala, which is close to the venue of Shah’s rally. Siddqullah Chowdhury, a Minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, who is also the President of Jamait-e-Ulema-Hind will be part of the protests.
However, Trinamool Congress(TMC) which has been vocal on the CAA and NRC issue from the beginning, will not hold any protest rallies. BJP leader Sabyasachi Dutta who was part of TMC before he switched over to BJP says Mamata is speaking in a dual tone. “Whatever protests are happening are ‘State-sponsored’. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kolkata, Mamata had met him at Raj Bhavan and yet hit the streets to protest against CAA. This time too, she met Amit Shah (in Bhubaneshwar) and yet is prompting protests in the city,” said Sabyasachi Dutta.
Shah will arrive at Kolkata airport around 11:00 am on Sunday and head to Rajarhat for the inauguration of 29 Special Composite Group Complex at NSG. Shah will then make his way to Shahid Minar for the public rally at 2:30 pm. Around 4:00 pm he will visit Kalighat temple after which he is slated to hold meetings at a hotel in Rajarhat area and then head back to Delhi around 10:00 pm.
