The cry against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, National Register of Citizens, and National Population Register grew shriller with tens of thousands of protesters flooding the streets of the city, and demanding that the legislations be repealed.
Protesters rallied around the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen-backed United Muslim Action Committee’s call for a Tiranga Rally and converged at the Eidgah Miralam. All streets leading to National Highway – 44, the route of the rally, were chock-a-block with thousands of Tricolour.
Soon after Friday prayers, protesters began to march towards Shastripuram and raised slogans in support of democracy, justice and equality. Slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party, Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were also raised. Three large Tricolours engulfed the thoroughfare, one ordered by residents of Bahadurpura, a whopping 160 ft in length.
Thousands of protesters reached Shastripuram, against the backdrop of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s house where a public meeting was organised. Mr Owaisi was surrounded by a phalanx of religious leaders, politicians and social activists which included Sandhya from Progressive Organisation of Women, Hamid Mohammed Khan and Maulana Jafar Pasha.
Speaking at the public meeting, Mr Owaisi opposed the CAA, NRC and NPR. Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that the people of Hyderabad and Telangana showed him that they reject the three stipulations.
Addressing the public, he said, “Do you oppose the CAA? Do you oppose the NRC? Do you oppose the NPR? Do you want to keep India secular? Do you want to protect Ambedkar’s and India’s Constitution?” The crowd responded with a resounding ‘yes’.
“We yet again demand that the Centre repeals the CAA, stop NPR work, and NRC work never be taken up,” he added.
Mr Owaisi also waded into the cordon and search controversy in which police were reportedly seeking Aadhaar cards from residents. He said, “If people from the government or police come to your neighbourhoods, and ask you for Aadhaar cards, will you show them or won’t you? Will you show your kaaghaz (documents). You shouldn’t. You should say, I am an Indian citizen. We hope that the government and police do not indulge in this behaviour.”
Other speakers said that the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao should immediately break his silence on the NRC and NPR.
