Disappointed with the recently implemented Citizenship (Amendment) Act [CAA,] 2019, leaders of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP,) on the 18th of December, met Ram Nath Kovind, the President of India.
The BSP leaders urged President Kovind to intervene and rescind the legislation, which allows citizenship to refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh based on their religious beliefs.
Refugees who are Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains, Buddhists and Christians and have been residing in India since or before the 31st of December, 2014, would get citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
The leaders submitted a memorandum signed by Members of Parliament (MPs) of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. In its memorandum, the Party mentioned, “Our MPs have opposed the bill both in the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha, especially pointing out that it was unconstitutional and illegal and based on religion. It is also against Article 14 and 21. We had requested the government not to pass such a law. The lathi charge and the attack on students of Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University and Nawada University by the police, while they were protesting against this law, should be probed.”
The BSP leaders opposed the Act and said it violates the Constitution of India, which states India is a secular country. However, by excluding Muslims, the CAA violates the ideology of secularism.
Concluding the memorandum, the BSP members urged the President to withdraw the Act and nullify it. The leaders also demanded a probe against the Delhi Police, who are taking violent action against students of the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university in Delhi and the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh.
The students of JMI and AMU have been protesting continuously for the last 4 days against the CAA.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court refused to review the petitions filed against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 urgently and adjourned the case to the 22nd of January, 2020.
Stay tuned for further updates.
