NEW DELHI: Several Muslim organisations on Monday urged the government and parliamentarians to dismiss the Citizenship Amendment Bill, terming it “discriminatory”, “divisive” and “anti-constitution”.
Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind (JuH), Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), All India Muslim Majlis e Mushawarat (AIMIM) and Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), were among the organisations that asserted that the Bill, if passed, 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.