Right-wing group Kshatriya Samaj threatens to forcibly end 'anti-national' Shaheen Bagh protests by 12 February over 'traffic snarls'

Raising a shrill pitch over ongoing protest at Shaheen Bagh ahead of Delhi Assembly elections to a whole new level, Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha, a Hindu Right-Wing group, has threatened to forcibly clear the “blockade” caused by anti-CAA protesters. The group has set a deadline till 12 February for the Centre and the state government to vacate the Shaheen Bagh part of the Kalindi Kunj Road occupied by protesters. Or else, it threatened, they will do it themselves. Recently, the group also held a protest march from Noida to Shaheen Bagh demanding clearance of the road. The group was not allowed ahead by the police. Thakur Sundar Singh Rana, working president of Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha allege that the blockade has caused much inconvenience to the commuters. “Lakhs of people living in Noida and Delhi commute to and fro through the Shaheen Bagh route every day to reach schools, colleges, hospitals and workplaces. But due to the blockade caused by anti-CAA protests they have to opt for a longer route through Delhi-Noida Flyway, facing tremendous hardship,” he said, and added that the Mahasabha would “use weapons if required”, to vacate the road after 12 February.

Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha is an organisation which functions across Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. According to Rana, the group cannot do anything before 12 February because the Election Commission-mandated Model Code of Conduct is in force in the National Capital till 11 February. Results for Delhi Assembly Election will be announced on 11 February. Rana said the organisation does not want to disrupt the poll process. Kuwar Ajay Singh, the national president of the organisation told Firstpost that it is preparing to execute it’s plan to vacate the Kalindi Kunj Road to mobilise masses in the locality. “We will surround the Shaheen Bagh area from all sides. For that we will mobilise our Kshatriya society and march towards Shaheen Bagh. People from our units in Palwal, Ballamgarh and Faridabad will march towards Shaheen Bagh too. Our supporters from the units in Delhi will march from Kashmere Gate to Shaheen Bagh and those from the units in Haryana will go via rail route. People will move from Noida. The protests in Shaheen Bagh are not only anti-national but also have caused fear among the people living in nearby areas of Jasola, Madanpur Khadar and Sarita Vihar as they cannot move out of their localities due to the blockade,” he said.

Significantly, the anti-CAA protests going on in Shaheen Bagh (for more than 50 days now) have become the central talking point ahead of the Delhi assembly election — especially after the BJP decided to make the elections about it and its “polarising effects”, with AAP leader and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Siodiya, on the other hand, siding with the protesters.

Commuters blame protesters for traffic snarls

Kalindi Kunj Road is one of the busiest routes in the National Capital that connects Noida to Delhi and people have protested against the Shaheen Bagh protests because it is inconvenient for commuters. People in South Delhi use this route to commute to Noida and vice versa. On account of the blockade, they now have to travel through the Delhi Noida Flyway to reach the same destination which consumes hours of their time instead of a few minutes. “My brother-in-law Ajay Chauhan (45) who is suffering from serious kidney infection had to be transferred to Apollo Hospital in Delhi from Kailash Hospital in Noida. But we could not shift him because of the distance which we would have to cover due to the blockade and instead had to transfer him to another hospital in Noida itself,” said Neeraj Chauhan, a resident of Meerut. [caption id=“attachment_8007331” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Shaheen Bagh protests have been ongoing for over 50 days now. Getty Images[/caption] Residents said that the protests not only cost time, but also money. Rajpal Chauhan, who lives in Sector 37 in Noida, said, “My son used to reach school near Jasola in 20 minutes and his commuting costs was around Rs 1,000 a month. But now the cost has doubled, because he has to take a longer route.” Utpal Singh, who travels to his office in Noida from his home in Kalkaji, complains about longer travel hours due to traffic jam. “Due to the protest in Shaheen Bagh, number of vehicles plying on the Delhi Noida Flyway have doubled. As a result, traffic jams occur every now and then, making journeys a few hours longer than normal,” he added.

Ask authorities, say Shaheen Bagh protesters

The protestors in Shaheen Bagh, on the other hand, blame authorities for the inconvenience as they say that it is them who have blocked the Kalindi Kunj Road in the name of security. Bhupendra Singh Rawat, a human rights activist who supports the anti-CAA movement said, “The protesters in Shaheen Bagh have only occupied a small part of the Kalindi Kunj Road. There is enough space for vehicles to pass by. But the authorities have blocked the entire stretch of the Kalindi Kunj Road that passes by Shaheen Bagh. If the government decides to open the blockade then there would be no traffic jams.” Ovais Sultan Khan, another activist from the protest, agrees that inconvenience has been caused by the protests but he also asks whether these inconvenience is more than the fear of losing citizenship? Among the voices that object to the ongoing protests in Shaheen Bagh, some are compassionate. Amar Singh Bhadoriya, who lives in Agra and travels to Delhi often, said that it is the government’s duty to consult with the protesters and ensure that the road is free. “Certainly people who travel to Delhi from Agra and Meerut have suffered a lot due to the protests going on in Shaheen Bagh, but it is the government’s duty to ensure that the protests do not go on for long. Why cannot the government talk to the protesters and solve the issue,” he said.