Several Muslim organisations took out a rally against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Kochi on Wednesday. The protesters hit the streets of the port city on New Year’s Day, demanding that the Modi government withdraw the citizenship law.
They started the massive rally from the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium all the way to Marine Drive, raised slogans against the Central government's decision to implement CAA and carried photos of Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad. "We are Indians, firstly and lastly" and “India is our nation" read some of the slogans with pictures of Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi.
The rally and the convention to declare agitation against the CAA was organised jointly by Muslim organisations, including Samastha Kerala Jamiyathul Ulama, Kerala Muslim Jamaat, Dakshina Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen, Jamaat-e-Islam and Muslim League. Various other Muslim organisations in the state are also part of the joint council, which has claimed that lakhs of people under different Mahallu committees attended the rally. According to reports, a bike rally was organised on Tuesday to announce the protest in Ernakulam.
The rally culminated at the sprawling Marine Drive, five kilometres from the stadium.
From 4 pm to 5.30 pm, traffic came to a standstill on Banerjee Road (from Kacheripadi and Palarivattom) due to the protests. No violence or untoward incidents were reported during the protest that lasted for more than an hour. However, traffic in the city came to a standstill for more than two hours.
The Kerala traffic police had put in place new traffic diversions ahead of the rally. The Kochi metro also saw an unusual surge in passengers and some metro stations were crowded, according to reports. Motorists and Kerala Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) buses, too, were caught in the traffic congestion in the centre of the city. Ambulances, too, were reportedly stuck in the traffic jam. Many shops also were shut due to the protests.