Spectators wearing black gear turned away from Wankhede; CAA protesters find a unique way out

People coming to watch the first India versus Australia ODI wearing black T-shirts or even caps were turned away by the security personnel outside Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, apparently out of fear that they may wave black clothes to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and NRC.

The decision to turn away spectators was probably an afterthought as neither the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) website nor the match tickets had any instructions to avoid black clothing.

People had to buy a team jersey to wear into the stadium, though one spectator was allowed inside after he wrapped a tricolour around his black T-shirt.

However, the protesters devised a unique way to go around the black clothing restrictions. A group of youth wore white T-shirts with one letter each of ‘No CAA, No NRC’ written on each T-shirt. They apparently entered the stadium separately and later assembled at one place to flaunt the whole slogan.

Here is the video of the protest:

Journalist Rahul Desai, who had earlier flagged the issue of black ban at the stadium pointed out in another tweet that the ban had actually put the spotlight on the issue.

“This "black" ban has now inadvertently put the spotlight back on CAA right in the backyard of the mute Indian cricket team. Thanks, government. Job well done,” Desai tweeted.

The controversial CAA grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities who moved to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before January 1, 2015, owing to religious persecution.

The law has met with countrywide protests. The government has responded with brutal police action.