Supreme Court-appointed mediators Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran are at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh to speak to the women who have been sitting in protest against the citizenship law for more than two months.
Appointed by the apex court, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhana Ramachandran mediated with the protesters and persuade them to move their protest to an alternative site where no public place is blocked.
The two mediators appointed by the Supreme Court to negotiate with protesters of Shaheen Bagh on Wednesday reached the agitation site in the national capital to talk to the people and resolve the issue while maintaining that protest is a fundamental right. Appointed by the apex court, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhana Ramachandran mediated with the protesters and persuade them to move their protest to an alternative site where no public place is blocked.
Hundreds of people, especially women, have been camping at Shaheen Bagh for over two months in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), blocking an arterial road due to which the city has been facing traffic congestion.
Before beginning the talks, Hegde read out the order of the Supreme Court. “SC has upheld your right to protest, we will listen to everyone,” Ramachandran said after reading top court’s order in front of the protesters.
“Supreme Court has said that you have the right to protest. The CAA has already been challenged in the top court and hearing on the issue is scheduled to happen soon. Like us, others too have their rights. Everyone has right to use roads and open their shops,” Ramachandran told protesters as she initiated a dialogue. We are ready to listen to your demands and I am sure that together we can come to a conclusion. By doing this, let us set an example, not just for India, but for the world,” she said.
“We would like to speak to everyone here and keep everyone briefed. We have no favourites and we hope to resolve the matter with everyone’s will and cooperation,” another mediator Hedge told protesters. Opening statements of the mediators were welcomed by the protesters with applauds.
There were some confusion within the protesters and one section asked media to leave the venue. However, Ramachandran said that the specifics of the meeting would be given to media once the talks are completed.
While talking to reporters, the interlocutors, Hegde and Ramachandran, said they had come to Shaheen Bagh to listen to people who had assembled in large numbers.
The Supreme Court on Monday, while hearing a plea against the blockade, appointed senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhana Ramachandran to mediate with the protesters and persuade them to move their protest to an alternative site where no public place is blocked.
The apex court said people have a fundamental right to protest against a law but the blocking of public roads is a matter of concern and there has to be a balancing factor. The top court was hearing an appeal filed by advocate Amit Sahni seeking directions to the Delhi Police to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj- Shaheen Bagh stretch, which was blocked by anti-CAA protesters on December 15.
