Odisha: Muslim community writes to CM, expresses pain over his support to citizenship law

An open letter was submitted to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik by the Muslim community of state on Tuesday, which states that his support to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) has "broken the hearts of millions of people of Odisha including that of India."

According to the letter, which was undersigned as the 'Citizens of India', the Muslim community has alleged the CAA is unconstitutional, which violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution.

"We would like to remind you that in 2009, while addressing the media, you had said -- My every bone is secular. We are happy to know from media reports that you have assured not to support and implement NRC in Odisha," reads the letter.

The letter further requests Patnaik to withdraw his support and place the matter before Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap the CAA.

Earlier, Moulana Miraj Ahmed, a member of a Muslim community in the state, said that around 13 people from all religious communities in the state will form a committee to oppose the CAA and the NRC.

"Today, the entire country is burning. CAA and NRC are two brothers just like Modi and Shah. We have protested against the Bill. We had given our full support to Chief Minister Patnaik. We voted for him and had high hopes from him. However, he extended his support to the Bill in the Rajya Sabha," he said.

The CAA seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghstan, and Bangladesh, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

( With inputs from ANI )