Asaduddin Owaisi moves Supreme Court seeking stay on implementation of CAA

Digital desk: The leader of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and a member of the Lok Sabha, Asaduddin Owaisi, expressed concerns about the situation of some 1.5 lakh Muslims in Assam who are allegedly not listed on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was put into effect.

Owaisi moved to the Supreme Court seeking to stay the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 on Saturday. In his petition, Owaisi said that no applications seeking a grant of citizenship status can be entertained or processed by the government under Section 6B of the Citizenship Act, 1955, during the pendency of the proceedings.

Owaisi questioned the destiny of these Muslims during a public event in Hyderabad, drawing a comparison between Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's promise of Indian citizenship for the 12 lakh Hindus left out of the NRC and the absence of a similar promise for the Muslim community.

He stressed that these Muslims might come under investigation and be asked to provide documentation at the Foreigners' Tribunal attesting to their ancestry dating back to 1962 or even 1951.

Owaisi expressed doubts about the BJP's claims that the CAA would not have an impact on resident Muslims and warned that these kinds of situations could materialize gradually, even in spite of early claims to the contrary.

Emphasizing remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the National Population Register (NPR), the CAA, and the NRC, Owaisi expressed worries once more about the long-term effects of these programs.

Owaisi questioned the methodology and potential biases in the process, citing a large number of people—including Muslims and Hindus—who were left off the final list of participants in the NRC operation in Assam.

Although Owaisi acknowledged that persecuted minorities from neighboring countries should be granted citizenship, he emphasized the significance of a non-discriminatory approach based on faith.

The CAA, which intends to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from specific countries who came to India before December 31, 2014, was recently put into effect by the Union Home Ministry.