Scores of youths, mostly students, gathered at the Ganga Dhaba at 4.30 pm and indulged in public display of affection protesting against moral policing.
They raised slogans against moral policing, hugged and kissed each other in solidarity with those who courted police action at the ‘Kiss of Love’ event in Kochi on November 2.
“We want freedom to express our love. Kissing, hugging has been there in our vedas, it’s there on the walls of Khajuraho,” said a student.
The organisers of Saturday’s event in front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office in Jhandewalan, claimed on Facebook that they were receiving threatening and abusive messages and phone calls.
On Saturday, the protesters were stopped by police who had set up barricades on the roads when they tried to march from the Jhandewalan metro station to the RSS office.
The first ‘Kiss of Love’ event was held in Kochi on November 2 after activists from Kerala decided to protest against alleged moral policing by right-wing groups. Similar events have been organised at Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
The campaign stated after a coffee shop in north Kerala’s Kozhikode city was vandalised by a group of people who were protesting against “public display of affection” by some couples there.
Image: Students take part in the Kiss of Love protest. Photograph: Kiss of Love/Facebook
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