CAA, NRC protest spills to Odisha as Muslims take out rally

Bhubaneswar: Opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), Muslim community members of Odisha today took out a rally and submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Under the aegis of ‘Citizens of India’, the Muslim Community members shouted slogans against the CAA and NRC. In a memorandum, they said the Citizen Amendment Bill is unconstitutional and violates Article-14 and Article-15 of the Constitution of India. The Muslim community further said since there is a fear of religious discrimination, the constitutional rights of the secular India is at stake.

Reminding the CM about his slogan at an election rally in 2019 saying ‘my every bone is secular’, the Muslim community requested the CM to stand by his decision in future. Patnaik has reportedly said that he does not support the NRC in Odisha State and will not implement it.

They also urged the CM to take up the matter and place a demand before Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap the CAA.

The ruling BJD had supported the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Parliament.

This the first time that protest has erupted against the CAA and NRC in Odisha. Earlier, there were protests in Delhi, West Bengal and Assam against the new citizenship law.

In Delhi, people today took out rallies and paralysed the normal life in Seelampur, Gokulpuri, Johri Enclave, and Shiv Vihar protesting the CAA.

Also, students of Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University and the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh have staged stirs recently.