Owaisi seeks CAA abolition post farm laws repeal; says 'large section of people oppose it'

After both Houses of Parliament passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill on Monday, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi reiterated his demand to scrap the Citizenship Amendment Act. Contending that Centre had made a mockery of the Constitution by bulldozing farm bills, he asserted that they were repealed owing to the fear of defeat in the round of Assembly elections scheduled to take place early next year. Moreover, he maintained that the CAA should also be withdrawn as a "large section" of the population was opposing it.

One of the reasons cited by PM Modi for the rollback of farm laws was that the Centre failed to convince a small section of farmers. Earlier on November 21, Owaisi had sparked a row in Barabanki by warning the Union government of another Shaheen Bagh-like protest if the PM didn't give in to the demand of scrapping the CAA. Retorting to this, UP CM Yogi Adityanath accused Owaisi of inciting sentiments by becoming an "agent" of the Samajwadi Party. 

Speaking to the media, Asaduddin Owaisi remarked, "You should not have enacted the laws in the first place. You made a mockery of the Constitution and enacted the laws with a brute majority. You legislated on a state subject because of which 750 farmers lost their lives. Farmers have been protesting since one year. You could foresee political loss in the upcoming Assembly election. It is my opinion that the Supreme Court would have quashed these laws. That's why they had to swallow their ego and repeal the laws in desperation." 

"When the farm laws were repealed, they said that a small section of farmers were against the laws and in the spirit of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. If this government recognises freedom fighters, then what was their message? It was that laws will be enacted in this country with consensus and consent. What kind of Independence are you talking about when you pass bills with a brute majority? You are insulting freedom fighters. A very big section in India that loves the Constitution says that CAA was enacted on the basis of religion which is a grave violation of Article 14. That's why we demand CAA should be repealed," the MP added.

What is the CAA? 

The CAA seeks to provide citizenship to the minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This will be applicable to the members of these communities who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. Moreover, they shall not be considered illegal migrants. Additionally, the mandatory residence period for naturalised citizenship for these communities would be reduced to 5 years.

After an hours-long debate in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the legislation was cleared, with a majority of the members voting in favour of the Centre in December 2019. While the rules for the legislation were expected to be framed within a period of 6 months of the President's assent, this has not happened in the case of the CAA.

Recently, the Centre sought time until January 9, 2022, from the Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, to frame the CAA rules.