Citizenship Act Has Nothing To Do With Muslims Living In India, Says Shahi Imam Of Delhi's Jama Masjid

Appealing for restraint during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Syed Ahmed Bukhari - Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, on Wednesday said that the citizenship law has nothing to with the Muslims living in India. “Under Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Muslim refugees who come to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan, & Bangladesh will not get Indian citizenship. It has nothing to do with the Muslims living in India,” Bukhari said.

Seeking to allay fears, Bukhari said there is a difference between Citizenship Amendment Act. “There is a difference between the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) & National Register of Citizens (NRC). One is CAA that has become a law, and the other is NRC that has only been announced, it has not become a law,” the Shahi Imam said.

He appealed for restraint during protests and said that ‘keeping our emotions in control is the most important part’. “To protest is the democratic right of the people of India, no one can stop us from doing it. However, it is important that it is done in control, keeping our emotions in control is the most important part,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Narendra Modi government on a bunch of petitions challenging the validity of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. A Bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant refused to stay the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The top court said that it will hear the pleas in January. As many as 59 petitions were filed in the apex court challenging the legal validity of the Act. Almost all pleas have called the Citizenship Act unconstitutional.

The order comes amid the intense anti-Citizenship Act protests that have swept the nation. The top court has fixed for hearing on January 22 pleas filed by the IUML, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, others against CAA.