Tricolour in mosques, 700 km long human chain on Republic Day in Kerala

The ruling Left Democratic Front government in Kerala has organised a 620-km long human chain on Sunday, Republic Day, to demand the repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, The News Minute reported on Saturday. The chain will stretch from Kasaragod town square in the north to the state’s southernmost tip of Kaliyakkavila near Coimbatore, and will begin at 4 pm.

“We have organised close to 37,000 meetings to invite people to participate in the protest,” Left Democratic Front Convenor A Vijayaraghavan told the website. “These meetings have been attended by 35 lakh people. We are expecting a minimum of 70 lakh people from all walks of life to join the protest tomorrow. This kind of participation could make this human chain one of the largest mass movements India has witnessed.”

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will lead the human chain.

Vijayaraghavan said that writers, artists, Kathakali dancers, musicians and others have been invited for the protest. The Left Democratic Front convenor said the human chain is a continuation of Vijayan’s actions, first to convene an all-party meeting on the Act, then to convene an all-party dharna, and finally to pass a resolution in the Kerala Assembly against the Act, and move the Supreme Court.