Saying Aadhaar, PAN not enough to prove citizenship unfair: Asaduddin Owaisi
VIJAYAWADA: Stating that it was for the first time in the history of the Parliament that a law was made in the name of religion, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi described the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 as a ‘black law’, ‘which is attempting to divide people.’
Addressing a public meeting at Eidgah Grounds in Vijayawada on Tuesday, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said: “We don’t have a problem with Hindus from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh getting Indian citizenship, but we are angry because of the discrimination done against a certain community.” Citing some recent instances, he said 19 lakh names, of which 5 lakh were of Muslims, did not appear in the NRC list of Assam.
“The problem that arises now is that 13 lakh people from there will get citizenship under the CAA, but the rest 5 lakh will have to run from pillar to post to prove their citizenship and, until that is proved, they will be kept in detention camps.” .
He cited the case of one Zabina Begum who had documents proving her family members were Indian citizens, but still the Guwahati High Court ruled that she was not an Indian citizen.“First, they said PAN card is the citizenship card, then Aadhaar came. But now, even these documents are not enough to prove our citizenship. How fair is this?” Owaisi rued.
Criticising Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the Hyderabad MP advised the former to learn from Kerala and Telangana where resolutions were passed in the state Assemblies against the CAA, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register. Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) and former MLA Jaleel Khan also spoke at the meeting.