NEW DELHI: Women protesting at Shaheen Bagh have sent a defamation notice to Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT Cell head Amit Malviya for calling them ‘paid protesters’.
In the defamation notice, the two protesters — Nafisa Bano of Zakir Nagar and Shahzad Fatma have demanded Rs 1 crore and an apology from Malviya in damages.
The notice was sent from the office of advocate Mehmud Pracha— their legal adviser after the BJP leader in a video posted on social media site alleged that women of Shaheen Bagh are taking Rs 500-700 in order to be a part of the protests.
The notice addressed to the BJP leader read, “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.”
“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. Such statements are not only false but also have an effect of defaming the protestors in the national and international community,” the legal notice said.
The protest at Shaheen Bagh began with the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December last year has now become the longest ongoing protest against CAA-NRC-NPR, triggering similar movements in different parts of the country, from Kolkata to Prayagraj to Bhopal and Pune and more.