Protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) that had begun with a dharna of around 50 people near the SBI branch in Wasseypur on Thursday, spread to other parts of Dhanbad by Sunday.
While a public meeting was held at Silver Dove School in Azad Nagar in Wasseypur, a three-day dharna and fast was launched by social workers at Nehru Park in Jharia’s Katras Mor on Sunday.
The Wasseypur meeting called Samvidhan Bachao Jansabha, witnessed the participation of Congress district working president Ravindra Verma, convener of Jharkhand State Loktantrik Morcha Ashok Verma and educationist Parwej Akhtar who discussed the nitty-gritty of the provisions of the CAA-NRC-NPR combine and their ramifications before denouncing them for going against the ethos of the Constitution.
Addressing a gathering of over 100 people, Ravindra Verma said: “In a bid to retain power, the BJP brought in the controversial law that has a divisive agenda. We outrightly reject both the CAA and NRC.”
Jharkhand State Loktantrik Morcha convener Ashok Verma said the controversial act had been introduced by the BJP keeping in the mind the next parliamentary elections.
Women protesters at Azad Nagar in Wasseypur, Dhanbad, on Sunday. Picture by Gautam Dey
Educationist Parwej Akhtar said the CAA-NRC combine was against Article 14 of the Constitution that guarantees right to equality.
Among the other speakers were Wasseypur residents Maulana Gulam Sarwar Rizwi, Naushad Khan, Maulana Naushad Nadwi, Mufti Shahid Kasmi, Mahdev Raut, Hazi Zamir Arif, Om Prakash Paswan and Naushad Alam.
In Jharia, besides registering their protests against the CAA-NRC- NPR, the speakers condemned the attack on a gurdwara in Pakistan .
Social activist Shiv Balak Paswan, who is also general secretary of Jharkhand Coalfield Bachao Samiti, said: “People are intelligent enough to gauze the real motive behind the BJP bringing in the CAA.”
Akhalque Ahmad, another social worker, said the peaceful dharna-cum-fast would continue for three days till January 7.
