As home minister tells them that they do not have police permission, organisers assure they will discuss the matter and take a call
The protest has been going on since January 26. File pic
On being told that they don't have the permission to hold the Mumbai Bagh protest and the agitation was inconveniencing people, participants and supporters assured Home Minister Anil Deshmukh that they would discuss the matter and decide on its withdrawal.
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Addressing a media conference on Monday, he said, "We had a very positive meeting with the organisers, MLAs and ex-MLAs. I told them that since they don't have (police) permission to hold the protest, they should call it off as soon as possible. The delegation was very positive in this regard and told me that they will return to the site and hold a discussion with other people," he said.
Local MLA Amin Patel told mid-day that he wasn't present in the meeting with the home minister as he was in Ajmer, but some of his colleagues told him that they would meet on Monday night to deliberate and find a way out.
When asked about Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's stand regarding the CAA and NRC, Deshmukh said that the government will not implement anything that would trouble the state's people. "Nobody will lose citizenship in Maharashtra," he said, adding, "We have said this repeatedly. People should not worry."
Members of the Mumbai Bagh coordination committee, who met Deshmukh, were satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. Convenor of the committee and NCP leader, Nasim Siddique, said, "The Morland Road protest doesn't have permission but others are holding their own protests in other parts of the city without permission. Since this can become a law and order issue, we will discuss the matter with women protesters and decide the agitation's future."
He added that the issue will be discussed in a meeting on Monday night to decide whether to shift the protest to a venue like Jhula Maidan where people won't be inconvenienced or whether it should be called off.
Former MLA and AIMIM leader, Waris Pathan, who also attended the meeting, said that they had discussed the notices issued by the Mumbai police under Section 149 of the Criminal Procedure Code with a few protesters.
"The notices were issued since the police are concerned about security problems. The home minister has agreed to cooperate and assured that further action will not be taken against the protesters," he said
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