Featured on TIME's list, Bilkis says would have been happier if demand was met
New Delhi: Bilkis, who became the face of a women-led anti-citizenship law protest at Shaheen Bagh here, on Thursday said she was happy to have been recognised by the TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of 2020, but would have been happier had her demand been met.
The 82-year-old, along with her two friends Asma Khatoon (90) and Sarwari (75), was at the protest site every day, braving a chilly winter last December, the coldest in over a century. The trio were hailed as "Dadis of Shaheen Bagh" on social media.
"When we told her that she has been declared as one of the most influential people in the world, she just said 'okay'," her son Manzoor Ahmad told PTI on the phone.
She is not as excited as the family is, Ahmad, who works as a translator, said.
"I am thankful to the almighty. I would have been much happier had our demand been fulfilled...had the government listened to us and given us what we wanted (withdrawal of the Citizenship Amendment Act)," Bilkis said in a trembling voice.
"It is sad we had to call it (protest) off because of the disease (COVID-19). I was there till the end, she said.
Ahmad said his mother had taken ill in December last year, but she continued going to the protest site.
It was so cold and she was running a fever, despite that she went there to support other women, he said.
Ahmad said all women in his family participated in the protest.
We are a joint family. So, the women took turns to participate in the dharna, he said.
The Shaheen Bagh protest demanding the government to withdraw the law went on for over a hundred days. It ended in March this year in view of the COVID-19 outbreak and a subsequent lockdown announced by the government to contain the spread of the disease.
Also, on the TIME magazine's list from India are Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bollywood actor Ayushman Khurrana.
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Commercial LPG price hiked by Rs 993 per 19-kg cylinder
New Delhi (PTI): The price of commercial LPG was hiked by the steepest ever Rs 993 per 19-kg cylinder on Friday, marking the third straight monthly increase due to rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
A 19-kg commercial LPG - used by establishments such as hotels and restaurtants - now costs a record Rs 3,071.5 in Delhi as against Rs 2,078.50 previously.
Rates were last increased by 195.50 per cylinder on April 1. Prior to that, prices had gone up by Rs 114.5 per 19-kg cylinder on March 1.
In three increases, commercial LPG rates have gone up by Rs 1,303.
Prices of domestic cooking gas LPG - the one used in household kitchens - remained unchanged. Domestic LPG rates were last hiked by Rs 60 per 14.2-kg cylinder on March 7. It costs Rs 913 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi.
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum revise ATF and LPG prices on the first day of every month based on international benchmarks and the exchange rate.
Global oil prices have shot up almost 50 per cent after the war in West Asia disrupted energy supply chains.
Petrol and diesel prices continue to remain frozen after a Rs 2 per-litre reduction in March last year; petrol currently costs Rs 94.72 per litre in Delhi and diesel Rs 87.62.
