Two Shaheen Bagh protesters – Nafisa Bano and Shahzad Fatma have slapped a defamation notice to BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya for uploading a video which claims that the Shaheen Bagh protesters are being paid Rs.500 per day.
The legal notice has demanded an apology and Rs 1 crore in damages from the BJP head.
Shaheen Bagh protest is sponsored… सारा कांग्रेस का खेल है… pic.twitter.com/JOKIO2qK7P
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 15, 2020
“A video posted and endorsed by you on social media site Twitter, which has been played across several media platforms, had alleged that the protesters are taking Rs 500-700 in order to be a part of the protests,” the legal notice read. “Such statements are not only false but also have an effect of defaming the protestors in the national and international community.”
“By making and propagating false allegations against the protesters and casting aspersions on their motivations, you, the addressee, and other entities, have not only played a fraud on the general public but have also attempted to bring disrepute to the protesters who are bringing the attention of a large number of people on the issues being pressed by this extraordinary exercise of Constitutional freedom,” they added.
The citizenship law which received President Ram Nath Kovind’s assent last year, has been described as “unconstitutional” by opposition parties and Human Rights activists. According to the, the law excludes Muslims from being a part of the law that provides citizenship to refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Shaheen Bagh has become the epicenter of anti- Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in Delhi. For over a month now, hundreds of women and children have occupied the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch to voice their resistance against the amended Act.
In several cities in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam, peaceful protests turned violent. Over 18 people have been killed in UP and four in Assam.