Out on Bail, Chandrashekhar Azad Reads Preamble at Jama Masjid as Loudspeakers Warn Against Violence
New Delhi: Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad landed at the Jama Masjid in old Delhi on Friday afternoon, just hours before his deadline to leave the city – an unusual condition in his bail order – expires today.
Sitting on the steps of the iconic mosque with those protesting against the CAA and NRC, he read out the preamble of the Constitution. “I am following the law and not violating any bail condition,” Azad told reporters before he went inside the mosque to pay obeisance.
Loudspeakers outside the mosque made the announcement that while people should raise their voice, there should not be any stone pelting or arson.
The Bhim Army chief had visited a Valmiki temple at RK Ashram before heading to the Jama Masjid, and plans to visit the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara and a church next, to underscore the secular outlook of the nation. He has to leave Delhi before 9 pm, but before that he is also expected to address the media.
Azad, who was granted bail on Wednesday and released from prison on Thursday, had taken special permission from a Delhi court to make the visits, after judge Kamini Lau ordered him to leave Delhi within 24 hours of his release and to stay out of the city for a month.
A team of policemen is escorting Azad and will videograph all his movements until he reaches his hometown, Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Cops said they expect a large crowd to follow Azad during his visits and have made adequate arrangements.
Azad was earlier arrested on December 20 from the Jama Masjid and was charged under sections of rioting and arson after a protest at the Delhi Gate turned violent. While giving him bail, the judge said citizens have a fundamental right to peaceful protests which cannot be curtailed by the state and rebuked the police for failing to prove any evidence against him.
Yet, the judge barred him from Delhi for the next one month and asked him to stay in Saharanpur. He was also asked not to participate in any protests in this time period, with the judge saying special circumstances warranted these special conditions.
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