Indian IPS officer resigns to protest against Citizenship Bill

INDIA: An Indian Police Service officer on Wednesday announced his decision to quit government service in protests against controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) issued by the New Delhi’s parliament. 

Abdur Rahman, who is currently posted in Mumbai, announced his resignation on Twitter and condemned the bill after it was cleared by the Indian Parliament on Wednesday.

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The controversial legislation was passed by the Parliament of India with a vote of 125 against 99, two days after it sailed through the Indian Parliament.

Mr Rahman is an Inspector-General of Police or IGP rank officer in the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission.

In another tweet, he said: “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.”

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On his Twitter account, the police officer said the CAB “is against the basic feature of the Constitution. I condemn this Bill. In civil disobedience I have decided not attend office from tomorrow”.

The #CitizenshipAmendmentBill2019 is against the basic feature of the Constitution. I condemn this Bill. In civil disobedience I have decided not attend office from tomorrow. I am finally quitting the service.@ndtvindia@IndianExpress #CitizenshipAmendmentBill2019 pic.twitter.com/Z2EtRAcJp4

— Abdur Rahman (@AbdurRahman_IPS) December 11, 2019

He added: “I am finally quitting the service.” He also underlined that the Bill was “against the religious pluralism of India.

I request all justice loving people to oppose the bill in a democratic manner”.

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

“It runs against the very basic feature of the Constitution,” he added.

In his earlier posts, he had stressed that the CAB was “an anathema to the Constitution and if passed will be a black spot in the Parliamentary history of India”.

He also spoke of how it violated the Indian Constitution and was “an act to demonize 200 million Muslims in India”.

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“The idea behind the bill is to stoke fear in Muslims and divide the nation,” he said in another Twitter post.

Rehman, a police officer with 21 years of experience in the field, has notably advocated for the challenged the Indian Muslim community faces.

He has also penned a book on the anti-Muslim discrimination, called Denial and Deprivation: Indian Muslims after the Sachar Committee and Rangnath Mishra Commission Reports. 

According to Indian media, the now-former Maharashtra IGP, who appealed to activists to challenge the CAB in India’s supreme court, was expected to speak to media Thursday morning.