The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday appealed to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to rethink over its decision of banning the protests and dharnas (sit-in) around the historic Jantar Mantar in the Capital.
Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader Dilip Pandey said that the shifting the venue of protests from the Jantar Mantar to Ramleela Ground is “unfortunate” and the NGT should review its decision.
“We are the party that has been born out of the protest against the wrongdoings in this country, and thus we know its importance,” Pandey said, adding that the Jantar Mantar has been the city’s iconic site over the years.
Hinting towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Pandey said even though the NGT has always worked for the welfare of the environment but it seems that the latest decision is carried on certain directions from the people who are against the dissent in this country.
On 5 October, the NGT banned all protests and dharnas around the Jantar Mantar, which has been a hotspot of many agitations over the past decades, saying such activities violate environmental laws.
The bench said due to the continuous activity of the protesters for a number of years, the site has virtually become “hell” for the residents of the locality who cannot sleep at night, face noise pollution during the day and have to encounter difficulties to enter their houses.
However, Pandey said it is strange that the NGT has chosen Ramleela Ground, which is a surrounded by vast residential houses for the protest site, over Jantar Mantar that has been home to only a few people.
tar, Jantar Mantar, AAP
