Mumbai: Inspired by the protestors of Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, women in large numbers took to streets in Madanpura here, protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The protests continued through wee hours on Monday with women raising slogans like "We all are one" and "Azadi" despite the best efforts of the police to convince people to cooperate.
"You should love your country but it is not necessary that you also love your government. Chandrashekhar Azad has been detained, he is fighting for all of us. He gets detained wherever he goes...we are sitting here for people like Azad and for the women of Shaheen Bagh. We won't move from here," said Fatima, a law student, addressing the protestors.
"The government is not taking any stand on it (CAA). They have stated that they won't take it back so it is dangerous for us as this law is against the Constitution. Nowhere it is written in the Constitution that a Bill can be made based on caste and religion. A few women had started this protest, and now we have also joined it. We are holding the protest after getting inspired by the women of Shaheen Bagh," she added while speaking to the reporters.
Fatima further asserted that asking people to prove their citizenship would be a gigantic exercise which will ultimately result in hike in unemployment rate and corruption.
"In the last 70 years, you wouldn't have seen women sitting on the streets along with their children late at night. The government should think about it as to why they are being forced to sit on the streets," said one local.
"I want to ask Yogi (UP Chief Minister Adityanath) and Amit Shah (Home Minister) if we are anti-nationals? They have stated that women protesting at Shaheen Bagh are anti-national. Our rights are being taken away from us," said another protestor.
"A fire broke out at Kurla yesterday...the documents of around 80 families have been destroyed due to that. What will they do now? From where will they arrange their documents," she said.
