Hyderabad, Dec 22 (IANS): AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday said the fight against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and (CAA) the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is the fight to save the country and its constitution.
Stating that this will be a long-drawn fight, the Hyderabad MP appealed to people to ensure peace for the struggle to succeed.
"Don't resort to violence under any circumstances. This is what the enemy wants. Don't fall into their trap," he told a massive public meeting against CAA and NRC.
Owaisi said this was not a fight of Muslims alone. "There are Dalit, Scheduled Tribes and other in fight. A major part of country is with us," he said slamming Modi government for what he called running the country on the basis of religion.
Thousands of people attended the public meeting organized by United Muslim Action Committed. The meeting began at All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) headquarters Darussalam on Saturday evening and continued till the early hours of Sunday.
Stating that Indian Muslims are Indians both by choice and by birth, he said they rejected two-nation theory of Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
"We rejected Jinnah's message and choose to stay here. This is our loyalty and love for the country," he said.
"We are fighting to save the country. This fight is for the self-respect. Even after 70 years, they doubt our loyalty," he added.
Owaisi said they were not against giving citizenship to people of other countries but religion should not be the basis for the same. He alleged that the government wants to make Muslims stateless.
Owaisi said the momentum of the fight had to be maintained for 6-7 months, he said it could achieve the desired results if there is not violence.
On criticism by his rivals over alleged silence on the protest, Owaisi said he never played politics over bodies of the poor. "If necessary we will die first," he said.
Claiming that National Population Register (NPR) is the beginning of NRC, Owaisi requested Telangana government not to undertake the exercise.
Thanking Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for voting against CAA in Parliament, he urged Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao to stay NPR like Kerala.
Owaisi also appealed to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to reconsider his stand on CAA.
Further, Owaisi appealed to people to hoist national flag atop their houses to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
"Hoist a national flag on your houses from tomorrow. All those who do this will be seen as the opponents of the black legislation," Owaisi told the meeting at Darussalam, the headquarters of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
Owaisi also appealed to participants carrying the national flag to take them back to their homes and ensure that there is no disrespect to the tricolor.
The MP read out the preamble of the Constitution of India first in Urdu and later in English and made the participants take oath.