The Union government has of late adopted a number of measures which seek to undermine the Constitution in letter and spirit, to divide the people on the basis of religion, to reduce the Muslim minority to second class status, and to suppress all dissent against these divisive policies.
The unilateral abrogation of Article 370 in August violated the clear understanding of the Constitution that any change in J & K’s status could only occur with the concurrence of the representatives of the people of that state. And now the government has enacted a Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which not only violates the Constitutional provision of equal rights, but would lead, when its sequel the National Register of Citizens is drawn up, to the languishing of large numbers of people belonging to the Muslim community in detention camps. In fact millions of poor people belonging to all communities, who lack the requisite papers, would be subjected to immense hardships, uncertainty and terrorization.
While the country has erupted in opposition to the CAA and the NRC, with lakhs joining protest demonstrations, the response of the BJP government both at the Centre and the States, has been to weave a tissue of falsehoods, and to unleash unprecedented police brutality on the protestors, among whom again those belonging to the Muslim community have been singled out for particularly vicious treatment.
This assault on the right to dissent is unacceptable to us. This assault on the basic premises of our Constitution which express the values upon which modern India is founded is unacceptable to us. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in J&K, and the restoration of normalcy in that state through discussions. We demand that the government which holds office by swearing loyalty to the Constitution announce clearly that the NRC exercise is permanently abandoned. We demand that the CAA which discriminates between people on religious grounds is withdrawn. We demand that the basic right of the people to hold peaceful demonstrations is unconditionally respected.
The unilateral abrogation of Article 370 in August violated the clear understanding of the Constitution that any change in J & K’s status could only occur with the concurrence of the representatives of the people of that state. And now the government has enacted a Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which not only violates the Constitutional provision of equal rights, but would lead, when its sequel the National Register of Citizens is drawn up, to the languishing of large numbers of people belonging to the Muslim community in detention camps. In fact millions of poor people belonging to all communities, who lack the requisite papers, would be subjected to immense hardships, uncertainty and terrorization.
While the country has erupted in opposition to the CAA and the NRC, with lakhs joining protest demonstrations, the response of the BJP government both at the Centre and the States, has been to weave a tissue of falsehoods, and to unleash unprecedented police brutality on the protestors, among whom again those belonging to the Muslim community have been singled out for particularly vicious treatment.
This assault on the right to dissent is unacceptable to us. This assault on the basic premises of our Constitution which express the values upon which modern India is founded is unacceptable to us. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in J&K, and the restoration of normalcy in that state through discussions. We demand that the government which holds office by swearing loyalty to the Constitution announce clearly that the NRC exercise is permanently abandoned. We demand that the CAA which discriminates between people on religious grounds is withdrawn. We demand that the basic right of the people to hold peaceful demonstrations is unconditionally respected.