Team Herald
Mapusa: Mapusa civic body on Friday revoked the permission given to Sahayog a civil society group to hold a protest against Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens which was scheduled to be held on January 18 at Taxi stand, Mapusa after a group of Swarajya Gomantak Desh Premi Nagrik of Mapusa threatened to hold a parallel rally at the same site.
Chief Officer Clen Madeira in a letter to Firoz Khan, Convenor of Sahayog, NGO said that the permission granted to them to hold the protest meet on Saturday has been revoked on account of objection received from Swarajya Goamntak Desh Premi Nagrik Mapusa in view of apprehension of breach of peace/law and order problem in the city.
Initially, the Mapusa Civic body had granted permission to Sahayog to hold the rally at the taxi stand in Mapusa at 4 pm on January 18 however later on Friday, the permission was revoked after members of ‘Deshpremi Nagrik’ made formal representation to the Chief Officer of the Mapusa civic body and Dy Collector Mapusa stating that various protest march which were organized against CAA had anti-national elements participation with involvement of violent activities such as burning of public properties and shouting anti-national slogans and requested that the permission given to Sahayog to hold protest rally be revoked and if the meeting continues than Swarajya Gomantak Desh Premi Nagrik will hold a protest against that meeting at the same time, same place which may further cause law and order situation in Mapusa for which the concern authorities will be solely responsible.
Meanwhile, Firoz Khan convenor of Sahayog said, “I got a call from CO informing that permission to hold meeting is revoked. Later we went to meet the CO at Municipality to question on what basis the permission is revoked. Without prior intimation the revoke order was pasted at my house. Since the CO was busy in a meeting, We went and met Chairperson who told us that two groups submitted their representation objecting for this meeting and there can law and order situation. I condemn this act of Municipality since they have not given us option to explain the matter. We have spend so much money and created awarness. This meeting was not about anti-elements and a similar undertaking was given to the Municipality but despite that permission was revoked”.
Khan further informed that he will challenege the order after consulting the lawyer. “We live in a democracy where everyone has right to express their views but this is a murder of democracy and constiution of India”, he added.
