The Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Dr. Muhammad Salim Engineer, while addressing monthly briefing at JIH headquarters on July 7, expressed deep anguish and concern over the rising incidents of lynching in various parts of the country. While adding further, the Secretary General said, “From 10th May to 1st July there have been 16 cases of lynching incidents all over the country where 22 people have died. It reminds us of the increasing lawlessness and complete absence of fear of law and order.” He demanded that the President and the Prime Minister of India should intervene to stop lynching.
On the Assam issue, the JIH leader said, “The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 has been opposed by all people and most of the political parties in the state, including allies of the BJP. The Bill is discriminatory because it proposes to grant citizenship to people from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan according to their religion. Thus Hindus from Bangladesh would be accepted but not Muslims. This is not only discriminatory but also against the spirit of the Constitution.”
Regarding the NRC issue the JIH Secretary General said: “We are deeply concerned with the publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. Thus far the NRC has held 1.9 crore people of the 3.3 crore applications to be valid and bonafide citizens of India. The fate of 1.4 crore people still hangs in balance. The final list is expected to come out by end of July 2018. According to the Assam Accord signed in 1985, anyone who entered the state after 24 March 1971 is considered an illegal resident. However, if a person is accused of being a foreigner, the onus of proof (to prove citizenship) lies on the accused. According to Jamaat, National Register of Citizens was welcomed by and all in the state but the state should ensure that that the process is followed judiciously and transparently and not in a partisan manner.”
While replying to a question on the news that BJP Minister Jayant Sinha felicitated ‘gau-rakshaks’ who had been convicted for Ramgarh lynching, President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari said that it should be condemned in the strongest possible words because it gives encouragement to all those involved in lynching and to all those who are willing to take law into their own hands. JIH president demanded from the central and state governments to take strict action and act seriously in maintaining law and order.