Muslims challenge Indian citizen law in court
Indian Union Muslim League’s request in the Supreme Court seeks to ensure that the government spells out its plans about rolling out a nationwide citizens’ register or NRC
Indian Union Muslim League, the Kerala-based group that was the first to rush to the Supreme Court to challenge the new citizenship law, returned to the top court on Thursday to ask the judges to stop the government from implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Population Register, or NPR.
In two applications filed in the Supreme Court, the IUML also asked the court to get clarifications from the government whether it had plans to implement the National Register of Citizens, or NRC, across the country and if there was a link between the NRC and the population register.
The IUML request comes against the backdrop of the government's new stand on the NRC and the NPR after protests broke out against the amended law that seeks to fast-track citizenship for non-Muslims entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh before 2015.
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Top government leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi have insisted that there is no link between the new citizenship law, the register of citizens and the population register.
But the government's critics including opposition parties have pulled out statements made by top ministers that have emphasised the link between the CAA, NRC and NPR.
