BSP Delegation meets Prez, demands probe into Jamia violence

A Bahujan Samaj Party delegation met with President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday over Citizenship Amendment Act and the violence that followed over the issue.

The delegation, led by Satish Chandra Mishra, National Secretary of the BSP and parliamentary party leader Danish Ali, gave a memorandum to the President.

The BSP leaders requested for a judicial inquiry into the violence that took place on Sunday at Jamia Millia Islamia. The delegation also urged to withdraw the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act.

They alleged that the Bill, recently enacted by Parliament, is against the Constitution of India and its Article 14 and 21.

Speaking with IANS, Danish Ali said, "We are opposing this law because it is against the basic structure of the Constitution of India. In the Preamble itself, equality has been given a thrust that says no discrimination should happen over caste, creed and religion. Whereas this law grants citizenship on the basis of religion. So, we demand the repeal of this Act."

Expressing his concern over violence in Jamia Millia Islamia, Ali said, "I am a Jamia Alumni. I requested the visitor of my alma mater, who is Rashtrapati Ji, to order a high level probe to enquire into the brutality against the students who were studying in the library and loss of the infrastructure of the university. I am also the court member of Aligarh Muslim university and the President is also visitor here. The police went inside the hostel and unleashed brutality. So, we have requested that a high level probe, preferably a judicial probe must be conducted and the culprits should be punished."

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati, on Monday, had expressed her concern over the incidents of violence on the issue.

In her tweet, Mayawati said that her party was in support of the students of Jamia and AMU. She said that students and common people had been victims of police action. She also said that her party had opposed the Bill in the Parliament.IANS