UP Sunni cleric slams police for booking women protesters

Sunni cleric and Imam of Eidgah, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, has slammed the Lucknow police for booking peaceful women protesters at the Clock Tower in the state capital.

Hundreds of women protesters have been on protest since Friday afternoon in protest against the amended citizenship law and the police have booked 200 named and unnamed protesters for violating prohibitory orders.

In a video message posted on Tuesday night, the Maulana has said that the law of the land permits an individual to register his or her protest on any issue in a peaceful manner.

"The women, braving the freezing temperatures, have been protesting in a peaceful manner in Lucknow and I strongly condemn the manner in which cases have been registered against them. I salute the women who are staging a protest against the citizenship law at Clock Tower. Their names will be recorded in history," he said.

He said that the Shaheen Bagh protest in which people from all parts of the country are participating cannot be termed as against the law.

The Maulana said that police action was unjustified because not a single woman had done anything unlawful.

This is the first time that Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali has issued a strong statement on the issue.IANS