The diverse and the motley crowd protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC) have literally no idea what these terminologies are all about and their bizarre explanation ranges from "freeing Lalu Yadav from Jail" and terming CAA/NRC a "machine which produces Indian citizens".
The protesters rallying at the "Bihar-Bandh" call given by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) against the new law and proposed NRC, also said that the protest is against the rape of girls, and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
The crowd also consisted of children who were only sloganeering but drew a blank when asked what CAA and NRC are all about. However, when asked again, they started derogatory words on the top of their voices.
"We are protesting because Mahatma Gandhi was murdered. Godse (Nathuram Godse) murdered him. This government supports those who murdered Mahatma Gandhi," said a protester.
Another group of protesters said that they are protesting to free RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav from Jail and to install RJD government in the state.
"We are protesting because we want Lalu Prasad out of the Jail. We want RJD government to rule the state," said one among them.
While another protester who claims to be an RJD leader said he is protesting because girls are being raped and are set ablaze in Bihar.
"I am protesting because my supporters have garlanded me with 'Mala'. I am protesting because girls are being raped, women are being raped and are set ablaze in Bihar," said Nand Kishore Mandal who claims that he is a local RJD leader.
However, the most bizarre argument is of a person who said that CAA/NRC is a kind of machine that gives citizenship.
"CAA/NRC is the machine. These machines produce Indian citizens, they give citizenship," he said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
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