NEW DELHI : The controversy over the citizenship legislation reached the Supreme Court on Wednesday with the apex court issuing notice to the Centre on a batch of 59 petitions challenging the validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019. However, the court refused to grant an interim stay on the new law. The next date of hearing is 22 January.

The petitions alleged that the Act discriminates on the basis of religion, between Muslim and non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, between migrants from the three countries and those from other countries, between those who migrated because of religious persecution and others, and between illegal migrants of six specified faiths other than Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, who entered India before 31 December 2014, and those who entered India after the cut-off date.

The tussle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition continued over the issue as more political parties came out to oppose the controversial Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which Union home minister Amit Shah said the government will implement.

Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik led the charge, categorically stating that while his party supported the passage of CAA, it does not support the implementation of the NRC.

“The Citizenship Amendment Act has nothing to do with Indian citizens. It only deals with foreigners. BJD MPs in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had made it clear that we do not support the NRC. I appeal to citizens to let peace prevail and not indulge in rumour mongering," Patnaik appealed on Wednesday.

A petition filed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said: “The impugned Act creates two classifications—a classification on the basis of religion and a classification on the basis of geography—and both classifications are completely unreasonable and share no rational nexus to the object of the impugned Act."

The Indian Union Muslim League, one of the petitioners that challenged the Act, said it violates the fundamental right to equality and intends to grant citizenship to a section of illegal immigrants on the basis of religion.

“The result of the impugned Act will be that a large number of non-Indians, who have surreptitiously entered Assam after 25 March 1971, without a valid passport, travel documents, or other lawful authority to do so, will be able to take citizenship and reside here," said the All Assam Students’ Union in its plea.

A day after leaders of several Opposition parties met President Ram Nath Kovind, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leaders on Wednesday met Kovind demanding that the Act be revoked. “We told the President that CAA is wrong and in violation of the Preamble, Article 14 and 21. We requested him to take steps to revoke it," said Satish Chandra Mishra, senior BSP leader. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam also passed a resolution during a meeting of party leaders in Chennai demanding that the Act be revoked. The party plans to hold a protest on 23 December.

The Janata Dal (Secular) said the party was against both the CAA and the NRC. Several other petitions have also been filed challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, including those by Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeenleader Asaduddin Owaisi, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Peace Party, NGOs Rihai Manch and Citizens Against Hate and advocate M.L. Sharma, besides law students.

Speaking on the issue, the Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, said on Tuesday that there was a difference between the CAA and the NRC. He said that Muslims living in India had nothing to fear from the NRC.

Gyan Varma contributed to this story.

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