HYDERABAD: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi appealed State Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to take a cue from Kerala and stay the work on National Population Register -- which critics see as the foundation for National Registry of Citizens (NRC) -- in the State.
Speaking at a public rally organised to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed all India NRC under the banner of United Muslim Action Committee, Owaisi said, "Firstly I want to congratulate K Chandrasekhar Rao for seeing that TRS voted against CAA in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. However, I appeal to him to stay the work on NPR, like Kerala government has done."
It is important to note that not just the Kerala government but also the West Bengal government that has stayed work on NPR.
He also appealed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy to stop supporting CAA.
"I request my friend Jagan Mohan Reddy to reconsider his decision on supporting BJP regarding CAA. I know you have to run a government, but this is for saving our country," Owaisi added.
An unprecedented number of people attended the event held in AIMIM's headquarters Darussalam. So much so that, two barricades separating the crowd had to be lifted off to accommodate the ever-increasing crowd. In the huge crowd, many were left breathless and had to be rescued by AIMIM workers. Even the police had to intervene. It was only when Asaduddin Owaisi appealed the crowd to remain calm that the situation got into control.
Apart from that, a number of people in the crowd waved the national flag and held placards that had anti-Modi/Shah/CAA/NRC slogans written on them.
Owaisi said, "Please dont throw away the national flag. Take it to your home and erect it from your roof. Whoever is against (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) should fly tricolour outside their homes. This will send a message to BJP that they have made a wrong and 'black' law."
He also urged PM Modi to remove the religious angle from CAA. He said, " If you have to go ahead with the law, remove the word 'religious' from 'minority'. Minorities are being tortured in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and other countries too."
The protest meeting also saw the participation of the two Jamia Milia Islamia students -- Aysha Renna and Ladeeda Farzana-- whose video of defending their friend from police lathi charge went viral in the aftermath of the police action in the university. Renna demanded the release of Bhim Army leader Chandrasekhar Azad and others who were detained allegedly illegally.
She said, "In behalf of thousands of people who are present here, I request the release of Chandrasekhar Azad from police custody. I also demand the release of all those who are illegally detained under police custody."
Renna condemned the police action in Delhi. "Have you ever heard about police attacking students in the library?" Renna asked. The postgraduate student of Jamia Millia Islamia also made a mention of the National Registry of Citizens and criticised it.
Farzana, who looked visibly sick, sat on the stage while speaking to the around 30,000 people who had assembled in Darussalam, the headquarters of AIMIM for the meeting. "I request all students in Hyderabad to join this protest. Students of all universities should join hands," Farzana said.
A release by the United Muslims Action Committee (UMAC) discerned the 'diabolical motive of resorting to faith-based discrimination as the propelling force behind the CAA. It bails out non-Muslims who are not included in the NRC. Muslims alone are rendered stateless -- ready to be consigned to detention centres."
Further, the release said that UMAC would organise protest public meetings all over Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and other States. It also slammed the authorities of Jamia and AMU for allegedly letting in the police inside its campus which resulted in violence against students. The same was reiterated by Owaisi during his speech.