‘Arrests a tactic to stop CAA agitations’

The arrest of six individuals for attacking a BJP worker after he left a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally at Town Hall in December has prompted concern within the overall anti-CAA movement.

Some groups expressed concern that the arrests of members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), an Indian political party often linked to the Popular Front of India, would reflect badly on the overall anti-CAA campaign. Student leaders mustering support at Freedom Park on Friday evening, however, said they believed that the arrests were suspect.

“We think this is an attempt to intimidate the protest movement,” a student leader said.

However, the Joint Action Committee (JAC), a coalition of 20 mosques in and around the Malleswaram area, said they did not believe the arrests would negatively “colour” the anti-CAA movement.

“I don’t think this will affect the other movements. We condemned all hooliganism and violence. If the arrested are indeed guilty, they should pay for it. But even the hardliners within our particular movement are not engaged in divisive activities. The city’s anti-CAA protests are totally non-violent,” said Syed Humayun, a senior organiser for the JAC.

He added, however, that he felt that the arrests were a tactic to stop CAA agitations. State Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao described the SDPI as a “radical” organisation that is not backed by anybody. “In comparison, the overall anti-CAA movement is a spontaneous people’s rally, made up of thousands of people from varied backgrounds and completely non-violent,” he said.

Meantime, Hum Bharat Ke Log, an umbrella movement which has been heavily involved in organising protests against the CAA in the city, rejected the notion that the actions of the SDPI members could be linked in any way to other movements.

“We do not want to comment about this issue because the attack has nothing to do with us. People are very unhappy how an unconstitutional CAA has been brought in to divide people along the lines of religion. This is why people are protesting,” said a senior leader of Hum Bharat Ke Log. “The investigation of the issue is not very convincing. Police must conduct an extensive investigation.”

‘Cong nexus with SDPI’

On Friday afternoon, the BJP’s Bangalore South MP, L S Tejasvi Surya, said that SDPI and the congress party had an undeclared alliance. “If one notices the anti-CAA protests, Congress workers are seen with SDPI activists at the same place. They shout the same slogans, participate in the same rallies and dine with each other after such protests,” he said.

SDPI a registered-unrecognised party

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is a political party founded in 2009 for the advancement and uniform development of all citizens, including Muslims, Dalits, backward classes and Adivasis. It is, however, often linked to the Islamist Popular Front of India (PFI). According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the SDPI is registered as an unrecognised political party. The party has often been at loggerheads with left parties and Sunni outfits in Kerala over ideological issues. It has representation in 16 states, including Karnataka. SDPI member Mujahid Pasha is the BBMP corporator from the Siddapura ward.