Two Women Evicted From Residence After Flashing Anti-CAA Banner During Amit Shah’s Rally

On Sunday, January 5, two women were dislodged from their rented house in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi, for flashing anti-CAA banner during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally.

To show their sign of protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), they had put up a banner in their balcony which read: Shame; CAA and NRC, crossed out; Jai Hind; Azaadi and #NotInMyName.

this young girl in Delhi shouts " go back #Amitshah" as @AmitShah reaches there as part of BJP's door to door campaign on #CAA, reports @vssanakan @manoramanews #Janjagranabhiyan #CAA_NRC_Protest pic.twitter.com/sx7FOblXGP

— Nisha Purushothaman (@NishaPurushoth2) January 5, 2020

Both the women, who lived as tenants in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, were asked to vacate the house by their landlord after they staged their demonstration during Shah’s door-to-door campaign in support of CAA on Sunday.

One of the women, Surya Rajjapan released a statement where she said, “Upon noticing our protest, the members of the rally started getting enraged and visibly agitated, and proceeded to verbally harass and intimidate us by shouting out threats and derogatory/misogynistic remarks.”

What happened when two women displayed an anti-CAA banner from their apartment balcony in Lajpat Nagar, when Amit Shah‘s door-to-door campaign for CAA went through their lane.

Statement by one of them: Surya Rajappan pic.twitter.com/xETiz3pJkC

— Charmy Harikrishnan ചാമി ഹരികൃഷ്ണൻ (@charmyh) January 7, 2020

She claimed that a mob of around 150 people gathered on the street below their apartment and their banner was taken down and torn.

It was also mentioned that a group from the mob forced their way upstairs to their apartment and threatened to break the door if they did not let them in.

“We feared for our lives and safety and locked ourselves into our home, while they kept violently banging at our door and shouting until the police intervened,” said Surya.

She asserted that their landlord was a part of the mob who locked and bolted the common entrance which led to the stairway of their house, thereby trapping them inside.

After multiple interventions by their friends and police, it was unlocked after 7 long hours. Following this, they were allowed to leave their premises under the protection of police officials. They then packed their essentials and left.

In a conversation with The Indian Express, the landlord said, “They left the day after the anti-CAA banner was raised during Amit Shah’s rally. They left with their parents and I have no clue where they are. It was an inconvenience to everyone. I shouldn’t have made them my tenants in the first place.”

Lastly, Rajjapan added, “Over the course of the last 48 hours, we have feared for our lives and for our safety; our character and upbringing have also been questioned (as is now customary when any Indian speaks out against the BJP). We have also been accused of craving media attention- only for exercising our constitutional right to dissent peacefully.”

Also Read: ‘We Will Keep Protesting Till CAA Is Repelled’: Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh Women On Dharna For Two Weeks