Road at Shaheen Bagh opened by group of protesters, blocked again: Police
New Delhi: A stretch of the road closed for over two months in Shaheen Bagh due to an anti-citizenship law protest was "opened" by a group of demonstrators on Saturday, only to be closed after some time, police said.
"Road number 9 in Shaheen Bagh was reopened by a group of protesters, but later it was closed by another group," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) R P Meena said.
Protestors claimed that they "opened" the stretch, which would allow passage to commuters between Noida and South Delhi, at around 5 pm near the protest site, but the Delhi police and the Noida police were continuing to barricade it from one side.
The road, which connects Noida to south east Delhi and further to Faridabad in Haryana, was closed for traffic in the wake of the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protest at Shaheen Bagh since December 15.
The development came after three days of talks between the Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors -- senior advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran -- and the protesters over the issue of difficulty to commuters due to blocking of roads.
According to the police, the protesters briefly opened a small portion of a road leading to Kalindi Kunj so that locals can pass through it with their two wheelers.
The Noida Traffic Police, however, also continued the restrictions on the Uttar Pradesh side of the road, an official told.
"It was being alleged repeatedly that the protestors have blocked the Kalindi Kunj road, which leads to Noida Sector 37. So, today it was decided that this allegation has to be done away with and the route was opened," Sonu Warsi, a protestor, said.
"The decision was also taken to give a gift to the Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors, whose interaction and mediation has helped reopen the case. We have opened the road and it is now up to the Delhi Police and UP police to decide which vehicles they will allow," he added.
After the talks on Friday, Hegde had said the protesters, in principle, were not fundamentally against opening of the non-protest side of the road if their security could be guaranteed in writing by the Delhi Police under suitable orders of the apex court.
"We will not be holding a public interaction tomorrow to enable the protesters to come to an independent conclusion as to the way forward. We will return on Sunday only if we deem it necessary and feasible to do so," he had said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
My party will complete 5-year term, says CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday asserted that the Congress government would complete its five-year term, while sidestepping questions on whether he personally would remain in office for the full duration.
Addressing reporters here, he maintained that decisions on the leadership would rest with the party high command and refrained from giving a direct answer on his own tenure.
“Our party will complete five years,” Siddaramaiah said, when asked if he would complete a full term as Chief Minister.
On the issue of leadership, he reiterated that the final call would be taken by the party leadership, saying, “The high command will decide. There’s no point asking the same thing again.”
Indicating his readiness to travel to the national capital if required, he said, “If I am called to Delhi, I will go,” adding that he would seek an appointment with Rahul Gandhi if needed.
The talks on leadership change have intensified in the power corridor of the state where claims were made that Siddaramaiah would make way for his Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
The Chief Minister also underlined that recent by-election victories in Bagalkote and Davanagere South assembly segment reflected public support for the government, stating that this clearly shows that people have appreciated the Congress government and its programmes.
The CM also dismissed the opposition’s claims, alleging they lacked strategy, and said local body elections would be conducted as per rules.
