Maharashtra IPS Officer Resigns In Protest, Against Citizenship Amendment Bill

Maharashtra Cadre IPS officer Abdur Rahman took to Twitter on December 11 to announce his decision to resign in an act of “civil disobedience” against the passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill.

The contentious Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha at around 9 pm on Wednesday, with 125 Ayes and 99 Noes.

Rahman is posted as the special inspector general of police in the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission.

In a series of tweet, Rahman expressing his dissent said that the bill is against the “basic feature of the Constitution”.

“I am finally quitting the service,” he said, sharing a letter he had written to the Maharashtra home department.

“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,” the police offer 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. @ndtvindia@IndianExpress #CitizenshipAmendmentBill2019 pic.twitter.com/1ljyxp585B

— Abdur Rahman (@AbdurRahman_IPS) December 11, 2019

Rahman has been a staunch critic of the bill since its introduction in Lok Sabha on December 9. He has also accused the Home Minister Amit Shah of distorting history, and presenting “misleadingly information”.

In a separate statement, Rahman claimed that the bill discriminates Muslims and is “totally unconstitutional”.

“Religion can not become a basis in giving or depriving a person from citizenship,” he said. “The whole idea behind the Bill is to divide the nation on religious and sectarian lines. It creates fear among the people belonging to the Muslim community. It also compels Muslims to leave their faith and adopt some other religion to save their citizenship.”

He also expressed his dissent on the implementation of NRC in Assam. He said that 19 lakh people were excluded from the NRC and they had to run pillar to post to collect documents to prove their citizenship. Dalits, Tribals, OBC, and Muslims had to bear the brunt of the NRC, he added.

This is not the first that a civil servant has tendered resignation as a sign of protest. IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan resigned from his post on August 24 after the central government abrogated Article 370 which gave special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Also Read: Breaking: Rajya Sabha Clears Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, To Be Law Soon