Hyderabad: Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Hyderabad on Saturday to condemn the recent amendment to the Citizenship Act and the alleged attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) nationwide. The ‘million march’ protest was called by the Joint Action Committee against the CAA, the NRC and the National Population Register.
The JAC resolved to boycott the NPR and the NRC and announced, “We will not submit any documents to prove our nationality.”
JAC convener Mushtaq Malik said the agitation will continue until the Union government revokes the amendments carried out to the Citizenship Act and drops the idea to carry out the NRC exercise.
He claimed that a political conspiracy was hatched to foil the ‘million march,’ but the public had defeated the conspiracy by attending in thousands without political and religious affiliation.
Moulana Hamid Mohammed Khan, president, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Telangana state, said that citizens will collectively ensure that the country remains secular. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah should understand the pulse of the people failing which they will face public wrath. Senior Congress leader V. Hanumanth Rao said the country belongs to people of all faiths, who are living together. It is the BJP that wants to divide people on religious lines. He said he was astonished that although the TRS voted against the CAB in the Parliament, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was tight-lipped on this issue.
Former member of Rajya Sabha Syed Aziz Pasha said that people are coming out of their houses to protect the Constitution and the country’s secular fabric.
Former minister Mr Mohammed Ali Shabbir said Hyderabadis showed that they were not behind when it came to protesting against draconian laws that are aimed at splitting the nation. Dr N. Kumar of BAMCEF (All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation) contended that the main motto behind the NRC was in enslaving people from SC, ST and other deprived communities and threatening Muslims.
