Citizenship law concerns all Indians, not just Muslims: Owaisi

Hyderabad: The fight against the new citizenship law is "not just the issue of Muslims" but concerns all Indians and there should be a sustained struggle against the legislation, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has claimed.

"Why should I stand in queue and tell that I am an Indian? I have been born in this land. I am a citizen (of India). All 100 crore Indians have to stand in queue (to submit proof of citizenship). This is not just the issue of Muslims but an issue concerning all Indians. I am telling 'Modi-bhakts' also. You also have to stand in queue and bring documents," the Hyderabad MP said late Saturday night. At a meeting 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 had chosen to remain India at the time of partition by rejecting "Jinnah's two-nation theory".

Claiming that BJP cited the existence of many Islamic nations, he asked what does he have to do with them.

"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," he said.

"I am Indian by choice and also by birth... If you want to fire bullets, fire. Your bullets would finish, but my love for India would not end. Our endeavour is to not hit but save the country," he said.

The fight of Indian Muslims is for respect as they are being doubted even after 70 years, which, he said, is an insult.

Owaisi, who said the campaign is to "save" the Constitution, also appealed to all Indians, who are against NRC and CAA to hoist the national flag on their homes from Sunday which will send out a message against the fascist forces and that it is the house of someone who loved his country.

Reading out the Preamble of the Constitution, he made the participants repeat it and asked them to not resort to any kind of violence. The meeting, attended by thousands of people, began with the national anthem and concluded with Owasi's speech after midnight.

A number of speakers, including students Aysha Renna and Labeeda Farzana, who are being described as the face of anti-CAA protests, and Aman Wadud, a human rights lawyer from Assam, spoke at the meeting. According to Owaisi, Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said 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, in the country, in the name of religion, preparation is being made to make us not just second-class citizens but stateless," he claimed, adding it is a loss for everyone.

The fight against CAA and NRC would be a long-drawn campaign as Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are not routine politicians , he said. The campaign against them can succeed only through political and democratic activity, he said.

The fight is not over with just one meeting and the same momentum has to be kept alive for at least six-seven months, he felt. He stressed on ensuring that the agitation remains non-violent for it to achieve its goal.

He urged PM 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.