‘Against basic ethos’: IPS officer quits in protest against citizenship bill

A senior IPS officer and Inspector General of Police posted to the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission, Abdur Rahman, resigned from service, minutes after the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed in the Rajya Sabha.

“#CitizenshipAmendmentBill2019 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,” Rehman tweeted. “In the circumstances and owing to personal reasons, I would not be able to attend office on and from 12.12.2019,” Rehman wrote in his resignation letter to the additional chief secretary (home), Maharashtra.

In another tweet, Rehman added that the bill passed by the Upper House of Parliament is against India’s religious pluralism and that it violates Articles 14 (equal protection of law), 15 and 25 of the Indian Constitution.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Rehman said a bill cannot be made on the basis of religion to deprive a person of citizenship. “Yes, I have resigned in protest because a bill such as this discriminates against the Muslim community and will deprive them of their rights. The bill is against the basic ethos that the constitution has enshrined upon the citizens of the country, which is why I do not accept the bill passed by the Parliament,” said Rehman.

The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha shortly after midnight on Tuesday, following which Rajya Sabha passed the bill on Wednesday. It amends the Citizenship Act, 1955, to make migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, eligible for Indian citizenship.