Embrace solutions in best interest of fellow citizens: SC-appointed mediators to Shaheen Bagh protesters

The Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors Sanjay Hegde and Sadhna Ramachandran Tuesday visited the Shaheen Bagh protest site to initiate the second round of talks with protesters.

Appreciating the protests that remained peaceful during the communal violence in Delhi last week, the interlocutors told protesters all their demands had been conveyed to the Supreme Court. "With the oncoming festival of Holi, we requested them to embrace positive solutions for the best interest of the country and the constitution," a statement from the interlocutors read.

The duo also said that they will not "impose" any decision on them, but rather expect "solutions to emerge from their side." "We communicated to them that in this second phase we expected them to discuss possible solutions amongst themselves and then inform us. In this regard we urged them to understand their role as responsible citizens under the Indian constitution and find solutions keeping in mind other fellow citizens," the statement read.

"We urged them to keep in mind the future of children in Shaheen Bagh and all the other children of our country, for whose better future, we citizens are collectively working," it further read.

Ramachandran and Hegde were appointed as mediators by the Supreme Court in February. The two submitted a report on February 24 in front of Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph saying that "the environment is not conducive", the court declined to pass any direction and deferred the hearing till March 23.

The report submitted by the interlocutors, it is learned, is based on the daily updates of their interaction put up for the media by the two interlocutors and a broad compilation of the demands of the protesters. The issues raised by the report will have to be considered by the bench while arriving at a decision. Ramachandran had expressed her thanks to the bench for providing the opportunity, stating that it was a "learning experience".

(Inputs from indianexpress.com)