Lawyers response to the BCI resolution over CAA

This article is written by Shilpa, a student of Banasthali Vidyapeeth.

The Citizenship Amendment Act passed by our ruling government is facing protests nation wide as well as in other countries also. As per the reports atleast 17 people have died, including an eight years old child. Most of the protests are campus protests . This Act states that it will grant citizenship to all those migrants who migrated from neighbour countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan excluding specifically muslims. Protests are being carried out because this Act somewhere descriminates against minorities.

People involved in these protests are mainly lawyers, students, law students, minorities. On these protests BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra on 22 December 2019 gave a resolution “the leaders of the Bar and young students are requested to take active role in diffusing the disturbances and violence in the country: we are convince the people and the illiterate ignorant mass, who are being misled by the some so-called leaders the matter with regard to Citizenship Amendment Act is under consideration of our Supreme Court, therefore everyone should await the decision of the apex court.” These statements are facing dissents of thousands of lawyers where member and vice chairman of the executive committee of BCI Advocate N. Manoj Kumar in his letter to the chairman said “protests against the CAA is an attempt to save the constitution and being the real torch bearers of the constitution it is the duty of every self-esteemed lawyer to lead the struggle to defend the Constitution.” Response to this resolution is signed by around thousand lawyers. According to them office bearers of the BCI are free to express their opinion in their personal capacity but using BCI as a platform to present their personal opinion is disservice to the BCIs principles. BCI is also facing dissents for his statements where they have called lakhs of citizens of India protesting in anguish as a illetirate ignorant mass.

Lawyers response to BCI resolution is disstressing more of because BCI in resolution showed concern or solidarity for police and armed force personnel’s but not for advocates such as Mr. Shoaib who has been detained in Lucknow or the many advocates fighting to upholds rights of citizens granted by the Constitution.

It is human nature to expect from their knowing ones or from their field members to support them if it does not happens dissents are always there in a civilized society and this response to the BCI’s resolution is somewhere the same.
It is the time where we as a responsible citizens are need to understand that to convey our demand or we can say to demand our rights and justice in a democratic country, we have to demand them in a proper way, in a proper channel where we can convey our demand to the ruling government effectively without any violence as well as without troubling our motherland.