HYDERABAD: Peaceful protests continued in the city on Sunday as Muslim and Assamese organisations staged demonstrations against the Citizenship Amendment Act, urging the Central government to roll it back. The successive protests organised by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Looitporia-Hyderabad Assam Association were held in Dharna Chowk, Lower Tank Bund, Indira Park. Hundred participated in the protest.
Many citizens raised placards depicting the Nazi swastika symbol overlaid with the words ‘CAB’ (Citizenship Amendment Bill). Fr Anthony Raj Thumma, who was at the meet, said, “It is time we saved the Constitution.”
Maulana Naseeruddin, a protestor, said that CAA should be immediately withdrawn and that agitations would continue until the act is withdrawn. MBT spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan said, “We Muslims are the people who participated in the freedom struggle and upheld secularism in the country. Our religion teaches us to save our country and its Constitution.”
Another 500 to 600 people thronged the demonstrations that were organised by the Looitporia-Hyderabad Assam Association.
Chandan Thakur, president of the association, said, “We already have the Assam Accord which says that immigrants coming into Assam after 1971 will be identified and deported. The CAA is violating that accord.”
“Our protest is different from that of others in the country. Our protests are not based on religion. People who speak Assamese are already a minority. It has reduced by 10 per cent according to the Census. In contrast, those who speak the Sylhet dialect of Bengali have increased by 10 per cent. This is a threat to Assamese culture and demography. Our protest is against this,” Thakur added.
Protests in MANUU, UoH
As protests raged in Jamia Milia Islamia in New Delhi, Aligarh Muslim University and other universities across the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act, students gathered in large numbers on Sunday night at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) and University of Hyderabad (UoH) and raised slogans against the Act.
The students also raised slogans against the Delhi Police, condemning the police brutality in JMI and AMU. They also burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah as part of their protest.
MANUU students have been conducting protest rallies since the past few days against the CAA. The UoH Students Union has called for a torch rally on the campus on Tuesday evening against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.
Owaisi calls for judicial inquiry into Jamia violence
Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday called for a judicial enquiry to investigate the heavy-handed action taken by Delhi police in Jamia Millia Islamia to counter protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Owaisi tweeted, “In solidarity with Jamia Milia right now. @DelhiPolice should release all the students in police custody & tell us the number of students injured due to police brutality. An independent judicial inquiry should be set up to investigate into the incident [sic].”