All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has taken a decisive step by filing a plea in the Supreme Court against the enforcement of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). This legal move by Owaisi comes amidst a backdrop where several Muslim influencers have expressed support for the controversial law.
Owaisi’s concerns extend beyond mere legalities, as he questions the fate of approximately 1.5 lakh Muslims allegedly excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) list in Assam. At a public gathering in Hyderabad, Owaisi highlighted the discrepancy, particularly in light of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s assurance of granting Indian citizenship to the 12 lakh Hindus listed in the NRC under the CAA.
The discourse surrounding the CAA has sparked debates across various platforms. Dr. Feroz Bakht Ahmed, former chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, emphasizes that the law does not pertain to the Muslim community and thus, there should be no debate or protest regarding it. He stresses that the CAA aims to grant rights rather than strip them away.
However, opposition to the CAA persists. The state of Kerala has also moved the Supreme Court seeking to halt the implementation of the Act, adding to the legal challenges against it.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated that the CAA does not entail the stripping of anyone’s citizenship, emphasizing its focus on providing citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from neighboring countries.
Shah further defends the CAA, accusing the Congress and AIMIM of misleading the public about its implications. He asserts that the law fulfills a long-standing promise to provide refuge and citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, comes after four years since its passage in Parliament. The rules, announced by the Centre just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, facilitate the expedited granting of Indian nationality to non-Muslim migrants from the specified countries who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
