Several hundred people from different walks of life and faiths responded to the protest call given by the Jamaat-e-Islami Telangana Odisha and converged on Dharna Chowk to reject the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, and the National Register of Citizens.
Some protesters carried signs equating the CAA to Nazism, while others demanded that the CAA and NRC be withdrawn.
Women and men raised slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A member of the Students Islamic Organisation and a student of University of Hyderabad Khurram Murad gave a poetic flair to the protest as he passionately recited celebrated poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s Hum Dekhenge .
Other socio-religious organisations, individuals and political parties joined the protest.
Speaking at the event, Jamaat president Hamed Mohammed Khan described the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, as a ‘dark day’ and asserted that all protests should be peaceful. He added that if protests turned violent, ‘control is handed to those against whom we are protesting’.
While thanking Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, in Parliament, he demanded that both the NRC and CAA not be implemented in the State. He urged the CM ‘to help himself’.
Describing CAA as discriminatory, and against the Constitution, Mr Khan said, “We do not know how the idea has come to them, to destroy the Constitution framed by Ambedkar. Do they want to bring Savarkar’s constitution?”
‘Eyeing Bengal polls’
Mr Khan alleged that the BJP, by means of the CAA, was trying to win the West Bengal elections. He said Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka had been persecuted and questioned why they had not been brought under the ambit of the CAA. He claimed that the BJP wanted to pit Hindus against Hindus.
He said that citizens of India, irrespective of faith, would face massive difficulties while producing documents and that even a spelling error or change of maiden name after marriage, could exclude them from Indian citizenship.
Touching upon the politics of the CAA and NRC, Mr Khan claimed that few political parties would raise their voice against these legislations as they were eyeing the Hindu vote. He claimed that even if Muslims vote as a bloc, this would not matter.
Mr Khan urged Muslims to befriend at least five new persons of other faiths, and explain to them their point of view.
Telanagan Jana Samithi president M Kodandaram too echoed Mr Khan’s views and said the CAA was violate of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. He said the NRC could be misused.
Others, including Majlis Bachao Tahreek leader Amjed Ullah Khan, too raised objections to the legislation.
Faith leader Fr Anthony Raj Thumma said the BJP was making efforts to turn the country into a Hindu rashtra and said India belonged to people of all faiths.
