The United Muslim Action Committee, an umbrella grouping of Muslim organisations headed by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), on Monday urged the Telangana government to stay work on National Population Register (NPR).
Speakers at the protest meeting organised by the UMAC against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Registrar of Citizens (NRC) and the NPR said Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao should stay NPR work like his Kerala counterpart.
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi said they would meet the Chief Minister once again to urge him to stop the NPR.
The Hyderabad MP said while they welcome the Chief Minister’s decision to pass a resolution against CAA in the Assembly, this alone would not be a solution.
Owaisi said his party would raise the issue in the Assembly and demand a stay on the NPR as such a step alone could stop work on the NRC.
On Telangana Home Minister Mehmood Ali’s reported statement that NPR is only for data collection, Owaisi said the minister should know that same data would be used to identify doubtful citizens. The MP said Mehmood Ali should not forget that he is not the minister of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) alone but the minister for entire Telangana.
The AIMIM chief said the protest against CAA, NPR and NRC should continue but it should be peaceful.
Owaisi alleged the hatred had increased to such an extent that a woman working in a government department in Uttar Pradesh for 20 years was called a Pakistani and terrorist by the head of the department.
He said Shabana Bee of Bareilly had applied for passport to go for Haj and wanted a certificate from the department but the head of the department told her to show the proof of citizenship. “When the woman asked who are you to demand the proof, he called her a Pakistani and terrorist. It’s time to wake up. This is dangerous time and if we don’t wake up there could be several examples like that Shabana Bee,” he said.
Large number of protestors participated in the meeting held at Eidgah Bilali at Masab Tank in the heart of the city. Leaders of various groups opposing CAA, NPR and NRC addressed the meeting.
