People in large numbers gathered at the taluk stadium at Basavakalyan in Bidar district on Sunday evening to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NCR), and the National Population Register (NPR).
The demonstration was addressed by many leaders, including former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, activists Richa Singh from Uttar Pradesh and Mustaba Farooq from Delhi, seer Basavaprabhu Swami, MLAs Eshwar Khandre, Rahim Khan, Kaneez Fatima, Bandeppa Kashempur, B. Narayanrao, writer Ramzan Darga, and religious leaders and social activists. They criticised the Union government and said that they were targeting the poor and marginalised sections of the country.
“Right-wing forces are targeting Muslims today and they will target Christians, Dalits, Adivasis, and others. They want to replace the Constitution that offers an equal opportunity with the Manu Smriti that advocates discrimination among people. The people of India will never allow for this,” Basavaprabhu Swami said.
“It was the Constitution that gave an opportunity to a tea-seller to become the Prime Minister, a Dalit to become the President, and a yogi to become the Chief Minister of a State. The very same people are now going to destroy the Constitution,” Ms. Singh said.
Mr. Darga termed the CAA and NRC exercise an attempt to divert attention from real issues.
Mr. Farooq, leader of the anti-CAA and anti-NRC movement from Delhi, challenged the BJP government to merge Pakistan and Bangladesh with India to realise the dream of Akhand Bharat.
“They [BJP] always chant the mantra of Akhand Bharat, but never strive for realising it. Because, they know doing so would amount to an increased Muslim population in Akhand Bharat,” he added.