Hyderabad (Telangana): In a show of solidarity with the nationwide protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said that the fight against the new citizenship law "does not concern Muslims alone, but all Indians", and appealed for a "sustained struggle" against the legislation.
"Why should I stand in queue and tell that I am an Indian? I was born in this land. I am a citizen (of India). All 100 crore Indians have to stand in a queue (to submit proof of citizenship). This is not just an issue concerning Muslims only, but all Indians. I am telling 'Modi-bhakts' also. You also have to stand in queue and bring documents," the Hyderabad MP said while addressing a public meeting held at Darussalam in Hyderabad.
The meeting was organised by the United Muslim Action Committee, an umbrella body of various Muslim groups at Darussalam, the headquarters of AIMIM in the city.
Owaisi asserted that Indian Muslims chose India over Pakistan at the time of partition rejecting "Jinnah's two-nation theory".
Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party for citing the existence of several Islamic countries while justifying the exclusion of Muslims from the ambit of CAA, Owaisi said, "I am concerned about India and only India and my love is only with India. (You say) so many Islamic countries! You go there. Why are you telling me this."
"I am an Indian by choice and also by birth... If you want to fire bullets, fire. You would run out of bullets, but my love for India would not end. Our endeavour is to save the country," he said as the massive gathering cheered on. Indian Muslims are fighting for respect as their citizenship is being doubted despite spending 70 years in this country, which he said is an "insult to the community".
Owaisi, who said that the movement across the country is meant to "save the Constitution", also appealed to all Indians against NRC and CAA to hoist the national flag at their respective residence to send out a message to the “fascist forces”.
While reading out the Preamble of the Constitution, he made the participants repeat it after him and asked them not to resort to any kind of violence.
The meeting, attended by thousands of people, began with the national anthem and concluded with Owasi's speech at midnight.
A number of speakers, including students Aysha Renna and Labeeda Farzana, who became the face of the anti-CAA protest with their video going viral on social media showing them resisting Delhi police personnel while shielding a man from being beaten up in Jamia Milia Islamia, and Aman Wadud, a human rights lawyer from Assam, addressed the meeting.
Owaisi went on to cite a statement made by Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, wherein he allegedly said that 5.40 lakh Bengali Hindus in Assam will get citizenship through CAA, but five lakh Muslims would be deprived of the same.
"Why are we protesting? We are protesting because the state is preparing the ground to not just reduce us to second-class citizens but render us stateless," he claimed.
The fight is not over after conducting a single meeting, but momentum has to be maintained for at least six-seven months, the AIMIM president added.
He urged Prime Minister Modi to remove the word “religion” from “religious minorities” while granting citizenship to refugees under CAA. It is wrong to make laws on the basis of religion, he claimed.
Referring to the brutal police action against the students of Jamia Milia University and Aligarh Muslim University while they were protesting against CAA and NRC, Owaisi slammed the latter's Vice Chancellor for allegedly writing to police to use “appropriate force” on protesters.
Hitting out at Jamia Millia Islamia's Vice-Chancellor, Owaisi claimed that her loyalty was not towards the students but “towards (a functionary) of RSS”.
Also read: Anti-CAA protest: Protests continue against CAA in Hyderabad
Thanking the government of K Chandrasekhar Rao in Telangana for having opposed the CAB in Parliament, Owaisi urged him to stay the implementation of National Population Register (NPR) on the lines of Kerala government. The NRC is being implemented through the NPR, he claimed.
He asked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to reconsider his support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government on CAA.
The gathering at the meeting unanimously demanded unconditional withdrawal of all cases registered against protesters and students.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar has suspended two police constables on charges of "involving in improper" conduct on social media after one of them allegedly made "vulgar" comments against "two" women participants attending the protest-meeting at AIMIM's headquarters.
Also read: Anti-CAA stir: Police post torched in Kanpur; death toll in UP violence rises to 15
A group of people also filed a complaint against the police constable over the matter.
