In an extraordinary development, a Muslim IPS officer has resigned from the service as a mark of civil disobedience against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, passed by the Indian parliament on Wednesday. The anti-Muslim Bill aims to provide natural citizenship to non-Muslim illegal immigrants living in India.
Reacting to the development, IPS officer Abdur Rahman took to Twitter to announce his resignation from the service. He wrote in his resignation letter, “I condemn this Bill. As a civil disobedience, I have decided not to continue in the service and thus not to attend office from tomorrow. I am quitting the service finally. I say sorry to those who want me to continue in service and give justice to the deprived people. I humbly request the people belonging to the poor and people of deprived sections i.e. SCs, STs, OBCs and Muslims to oppose the Bill in a democratic manner as it is going to harm them the most.
“I also request tolerant, secular and justice-loving Hindu brothers who have idea of a
prosperous and united India to oppose the Bill. I further request activists and members of Civil Society Groups to challenge it in the Supreme Court, if at all it is finally passed and becomes an Act.”
This Bill is against the religious pluralism of India. I request all justice loving people to oppose the bill in a democratic manner. It runs against the very basic feature of the Constitution. @ndtvindia@IndianExpress #CitizenshipAmendmentBill2019 pic.twitter.com/1ljyxp585B
— Abdur Rahman (@AbdurRahman_IPS) December 11, 2019
Earlier, civil rights activist Harsh Mandar had said that he will declare himself a Muslim if the parliament passed the Bill.
Meanwhile, protests in the north-east have intensified with the government suspending internet services in Assam and Tripura. According to some reports, the army has been put on standby.
The intensity of the protests in the BJP-ruled Assam was so much that Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal remained stuck at the Guwahati Airport on Wednesday for some time.
Meanwhile, curfew has been imposed in Assam’s Dubrugarh district till further orders.