NEW DELHI: Terming the approval of the Citizenship Amendment Bill an attempt to create unease and a communal divide, the Congress on Friday demanded its immediate withdrawal. Speaking during a protest against the Bill organised in Seelampur, a Muslim-majority area in northeast Delhi, Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra said that there had been attacks on secularism not once but many times, but the people of India had always rejected the agenda of divisive forces such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"The Congress party protected secularism by taking along all shades of opinion with a broader view, while on the other hand, whenever the BJP came to power, it targeted the communal amity and secular ideals of the country by making concerted attempts to divide the country on communal and caste lines. The Bill is a direct violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution," Chopra said.
Chopra "condemned" the police lathicharge on students of Jamia, and demanded a probe into it. Congress workers in large numbers, the majority of them from the minority community, participated in the protest, which was held after weekly Friday afternoon prayers. Chopra said that the Bill would create communal tension, caste dissension and an explosive situation across the nation.
The protest was attended by senior Delhi Congress leaders, including former MLAs Mateen Ahmed and Mukesh Sharma, who is also chief spokesperson of the party. "Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who sat on a hunger strike demanding suspension of Delhi Police officials, was silent on the Bill. Why was he quiet on this issue? The Aam Aadmi Party workers are not hitting the streets to protest against the Bill," he said.