By Abdul hafiz lakhani siyasat.net
Several Muslim organisations came down heavily on Modi government as Loksabha passed controversial the Citizenship Amendment Bill bill last evening, terming it “discriminatory”, “divisive” and “anti-constitution”.
Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind (JuH), Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), All India Milli Council, All India Muslim Majlis e Mushawarat (AIMIM) and Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), SDPI were among the organisations that asserted that the Bill, if passed in both house , would destroy the secular fabric of the country and validate the two-nation theory.
JuH chief Maulana Arshad Madani warned that the “dangerous Bill will set the secular fabric of the country on fire”. He said, “The Bill is anti-Muslim and dangerous for the secular fabric of the country. It cannot be seen in isolation. It has to be seen in tandem with NRC which the government wants to conduct in the entire country. We all saw what happened in Assam NRC. Even genuine people could not prove their citizenship. So, when these two are implemented countrywide, all will be able to escape NRC through this Bill except Muslims. It will make Muslims miserable and destroy the country’s secular fabric.”
JIH vice-president Salim Engineer echoed similar concerns and called the Bill the biggest tool of discrimination. He also said that the Muslim body has been meeting politicians across party lines to convince them to not support the “divisive” Bill. “This validates the two-nation theory that had led to Partition. If the Bill is passed, it will be a turning point in India’s history. It is a big step towards becoming a Hindu Rasthra. We’re urging MPs to reject the Bill which is dangerous and disastrous for the secular principles of our country.”
BMMA, that was at the forefront of the legal battle for a law against triple talaq, too demanded withdrawal of the Bill, saying it would divide citizens on religious grounds.Meanwhile, the All-India Shia Personal Law Board and the UP Shia Waqf Board requested the Centre to increase the ambit of Bill to include Shias in the list of communities for grant of citizenship on account of their religious persecution in neighbouring Islamic countries.
If the sceptre of a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) had rattled Muslims, the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) had stoked their worst fears, says Umar Khalid, who, since his days as a student leader at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, has emerged as a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government. In a conversation with HuffPost India, the 32-year-old doctoral graduate said, “It makes you feel as if you are being ruled by a group of thugs who don’t care about the rule of law or the idea of the rule of law, co-existence, fraternity and democracy.” Even if the NRC in conjunction with the CAB is implemented nationwide, Khalid, who was shot at by two men last year, Khalid said that he would not give his documents to anyone. “After having lived all my life in India, if i have to prove my citizenship, it attacks my very basic dignity…” he said.
Mohammad Shafi, national general secretary of the SDPI, said all right-thinking people who believed in the secular ethos and values wanted withdrawal of the bill. This government, whenever in trouble, attempted to rake up issues in order to divert attention of people from the main issues. The economic crisis has been deepening, and hardships of the common man increasing by the day, he said.
“It seems that after the Babri Masjid verdict, the BJP has found a topic to talk during the election campaigns for the next four years. The ruling BJP wants to divert attention of the people from their woes and hardships.”
Coming down heavily on the government and the ruling BJP, Dr Tasleem Rehmani, SDPI national secretary, said the present ruling party did not play any role in the freedom movement, and now “they want to divide the country”. He added: “We won’t allow these forces to work on communal lines and will protect the nation’s integrity till our last breath.”
