Gunshots and threats of imprisonment will not keep protesters away from the streets, Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar Azad said while addressing a gathering of around one lakh anti-CAA protesters at Kodungallur on Sunday.

“The people who have taken to the streets will win the fight and this act will be repealed,” he said.

“Going to jail has only made my resolve stronger,” he said, referring to his recent spell at Tihar Jail after he led a protest march in Delhi. Over 5,000 Shaheen Baghs would be created across the country till the politicians, who were turning a deaf ear to the people’s wishes and peddling lies, listen, he said.

The protest meeting was held on Munakkal beach after three separate rallies from Kodungallur town traversed over 5 km to converge by the sea side.

The serpentine rally was led by hundreds of women and children, holding the national flag and photographs of B.R. Ambedkar aloft, and chanting that they would not cower in fear.

Protesters and organisers stressed the significance of such a rally in Kodungallur, a town steeped in history of communal harmony, and still houses centuries-old places of worship of different religions, including Judaism and Islam.

The event was organised by Citizens’ Forum India.