"No law can be made on the grounds of religion": AIMIM leader Waris Pathan on CAA implementation

Accusing the BJP of 'polarization', ahead of elections, Pathan said, "Understand the chronology. Look at the timing. Dates are going to be announced, 2024 Lok Sabha elections are going to take place and the government suddenly thinks of notifying it."

He questioned the government's inaction over the past five years and asserted that the sudden notification was an attempt to polarize voters before the elections.

"What was it doing for five years? Why not bring it earlier? The government is trying to polarise it before elections just because they have failed on development fronts. They don't have answers to questions. So, they have brought this. We objected to it earlier and we say today as well that this law is unconstitutional. We object to it."

Meanwhile, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi also questioned the timing of the implementation of the act, adding that the legislation takes inspiration from the thoughts of Nathuram Godse, and is meant to bring division in the country.

"Aap chronology samajhiye, pehle election season aayega, phir CAA rules aayenge. Our objections to CAA remain the same. CAA is divisive and based on Godse's thought that it wanted to reduce Muslims to second-class citizens. Give asylum to anyone who is persecuted but citizenship must not be based on religion or nationality," Asaduddin Owaisi posted on X.

In a reaction to the critical comments made by the AIMIM Chief on the implementation of CAA, BJP Lok Sabha Candidate from Hyderabad Madhavi Latha said that the leader 'must first worry about the Muslims who are in the country'.

"What should he do the first? Worry about the Muslims who are here. Think about their poverty. The highest share of the GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) goes to the South Zone, the Hyderabad old city. Still, there is no cleanliness, no electrical poles and lights. So, whose pockets are being filled with the budget... How much did he (Owaisi) spend for Pasmanda Muslims' development?," Latha said.

Earlier, in 2019, Hundreds of woman began an anti-CAA sit-in-protest at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh which gained huge momentum, blocking major roads in the national capital. The protest lasted until 24 March 2020.

To avoid any untoward incidents Delhi Police and Paramilitary forces were deployed in some parts of the national capital. The implementation of the law passed in 2019, was delayed on account of widespread protests against its passage.

Under the Citizenship Act of 1955, Indian citizenship by registration or naturalization is granted to non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in nine states, such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra. (ANI)