Maharashtra IPS officer quits over 'communal, unconstitutional' Citizenship Amendment Bill, says law aims to stoke fear among Muslims, divide India

Mumbai: A Maharashtra cadre IPS officer on Wednesday said he has decided to resign from the service as a protest against the “blatantly communal and unconstitutional” Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Abdur Rahman, posted as special IGP in Mumbai, issued a statement saying he won’t be attending office from Thursday.

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

Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved the Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday.

“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,” he said.

“The Bill is against the basic feature of the Constitution. I condemn this Bill. In civil disobedience, I have decided not to attend office from tomorrow. I am finally quitting the service,” Rahman said in the statement.

“During the passage of the Bill, wrong facts, misleadingly information and wrong logic were produced by Home Minister Amit Shah. History was distorted. The idea behind the bill is to stoke fear in Muslims and divide the nation,” he said.

The Bill violates Article 14 of the Constitution and is against its basic feature, he said. “It discriminates persons on the basis of religion. It’s an act to demonise 200 million Muslims in India,” he added.

A senior police official said Rahman applied for voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) in August and was awaiting a decision on his application.