From the Urdu Press: ‘CAA move disquieting…must be challenged legally’, ‘simultaneous polls lead to autocracy’

The Election Commission has sounded the bugle for the Lok Sabha polls, with the BJP riding high on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity, Hindutva and welfarism, and the Opposition hoping to put up a challenge with a struggling INDIA bloc. All these stories were recorded and analysed by Urdu dailies this week as they stepped up their coverage of the world’s largest electoral exercise. The dailies also focused on the disquiet among Muslims in the wake of the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, with a large section apprehensive it is the first step towards a National Register of Citizens (NRC).

URDU TIMES

Commenting on the Modi government’s move to notify rules for the CAA — which seeks to ease Indian citizenship for refugees belonging to minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, leaving out essentially Muslims — the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its editorial on March 14, says the move — right as the holy month of Ramzan began — has left Muslims across the country worried. “To grant citizenship to persecuted people of any country is right, as the government and its supporters have been insisting the CAA is all about,” the daily writes. “But the matter doesn’t end here. The most disturbing aspect of this play is that the law excludes Muslims from its ambit, which would have dangerous implications for the community if it is combined with any NRC plan since in that case, while a Pakistani or Bangladeshi Hindu would get Indian citizenship, an Indian Muslim would not get recognised as an Indian unless his or her papers are in order.”

The editorial points out that a large section of people in India, especially the poor, do not have all the necessary documents. “This is true for all