HYDERABAD: The seething outrage against the Citizenship Act, which had been brewing since its introduction in the Parliament, poured onto the streets of the city on Friday with protesters demanding the rollback of the ‘unconstitutional’ law.
At various mosques and Eidgahs in the city, including the iconic Mecca Masjid, silent protests were held by Muslims after Jumu’ah. Maulanas explained the implications of the law.Many of the protestors wore black badges and held placards, urging the government to revoke the law.
Around 1000 people participated in the rally that started from the Ujale Shah Eidgah to the Malakpet main road. The call for this particular protest came from Jamiat-e-Ulema-e Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami, Tehreek Muslimeen Shabban, Wahdat-e-Islami, and other Muslim organisations.
A separate rally was taken out by the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), where apart from the slogans against CAB, those against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were also heard. There were also slogans against the proposed all-India NRC.
“From Love Jihad to the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the BJP’s only job is to target Muslims. The Constitution guarantees citizenship to all people irrespective of their religion.
If you want to give citizenship to any religion, we are not against it. But particularly mentioning that we will not be given citizenship is very objectionable,” said Majilis Bachao Tehreek leader Amjed Ullah Khan.
Around 3,000 people participated in the rally which started from Mehdipatnam X roads. Talha Faiyazuddin, State president of SIO Telangana, called the legislation unconstitutional and illegal.
He further claimed that the government did not have sympathy with religiously-persecuted immigrants and that it only intended to advance its communal agenda.
At Osmania University, a small group of students protested against the law and tore up its copies. Narsh Dudapaka, president of Dalit Minority Students Association (DMSA), said that the bill was against Muslims and was also a threat to Dalit, adivasi and BC communities.
Small protests and rallies were witnessed in various places including, Shahalibanda, Humayunnagar, Falaknuma, Darulshifa, Barkas, Dabeerpura. The Rohingya settlement in Balapur was also under strict vigil with a police van stationed near the shanties.