CAA must be made inclusive, says Jung
NEWDELHI: Former Delhi lieutenant governor (L-G) of Delhi and ex-vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia Najeeb Jung on Monday said there was a need to “revamp” the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to make it “inclusive”.
Addressing protesters at the ongoing ant-caa and National Register of Citizens (NRC) agitation outside the university, Jung said,“i feel that CAA needs a revamp. They should either include Muslims or remove other names. Make it inclusive, matter will get dismissed. If PM calls these people and talks, the matter will get resolved,” he said.
Jung said the Centre needs to have a dialogue with those protesting against the CAANRC.
“When Anna Hazare movement had happened (2011), the Congress’ government at the Centre was ready to talk to the agitators. Why the present government is not ready to have such a dialogue? There should be talks,” he said.
Congratulating students and local residents who have been protesting outside Jamia for the last five weeks, Jung said, “It’s very encouraging to see that an Act, which was meant to create divide among people, have united everyone.”
Jamia Millia Islamia and the neighbouring areas have been witnessing protests against the new citizenship law since December 15 when a protest near the university turned violent and policemen allegedly stormed into the campus, beating up students and damaging property. In neighbouring Shaheen Bagh, a large protest gathering has been ongoing for over a month now.
On Monday, students from several universities also took out a protest march against the amended citizenship law from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar. The protest was held under the banner of “Young India against CAA-NRC-NPR”, a collective of over 30 students’ groups.
N Sai Balaji, AISA national president and former JNU students’ union (JNUSU) president said, “Students and youth today have showed that they won’t get divided by hate. We are together to defend our Constitution.”
Social activist Harsh Mandar, who was also present at the protest, said, “We are fighting against hatred with our love and Constitution. The young India is showing us the hope and we will take back our India.”
Meanwhile, a group of students from Jamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Delhi University (DU) have launched a “flash protest” campaign against the CAA, under which they will protest on the streets, in the Metro trains and malls every Sunday.
Shaheen Abdullah, a student of Jamia, said they held one such protest in the Delhi Metro on Sunday.
“The idea is to hold flash protest in areas where people are not protesting against the CAA and NRC at present. The students will peacefully raise slogans for 4-5 minutes because we do not want to create disturbance,” he said.
Denying involvement of any students’ group in the initiative, Abdullah said, “It’s not about any group or organisation. Students from across universities have realised we should come out of our comfort zones and protest in places where no one is protesting.”