Shaheen Bagh protestors claim sit-in not causing inconvenience to commuters

A day after the Supreme Court expressed concern on blockade of a public road at Shaheen Bagh and suggested that the anti-CAA protestors shift to another site, several of those participating in the stir contested the claim that the sit-in was causing inconvenience to a large number of commuters.

The Supreme Court has asked senior advocate Sanjay Hegde to act as interlocutor and persuade protestors to move to an alternative site where no public place is blocked.

It said Hegde can take assistance of advocate Sadhana Ramachandran and former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah for talking to the protestors.

The interlocutors had their first discussion over the Shaheen Bagh blockade on Tuesday. However, they said that they are awaiting the copy of the SC order copy before meeting the Shaheen Bagh protestors.

Several protestors on Tuesday said that the Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj road in southeast Delhi, which is blocked for over two months, is used by only a few commuters, that too mostly from the vicinity of Jamia Nagar and Okhla who had agreed to the use of the site for the demonstration.

Hafeez Saiyed, a printing press owner who is a regular at the Shaheen Bagh protest, said, "When the Shaheen Bagh protest began around December, the residents first had a discussion over the venue. When the shade was put up for the women to sit and protest, the shopkeepers on the entire stretch agreed to give that space."
"Democracy works on expression of views but there are lines and boundaries for it," a bench of Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph has said, adding, "The question which is arising is where to protest."