Hyderabad, March 12 (IANS) AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday questioned the timing of the notification of the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which was passed in 2019.

The Hyderabad MP reiterated that he is not against giving asylum to anyone who is persecuted, but citizenship should not be based on religion.

Owaisi said Indians who came out on the streets to oppose CAA, NPR and NRC will have no choice but to oppose it again.

"Aap chronology samajhiye, pehle election season aayega phir CAA rules aayenge (Try to understand the chronology, election season would be around and then there would be notification of CAA rules). Our objections to CAA remain the same. CAA is divisive & based on Godse's thought that wanted to reduce Muslims to second-class citizens," Owaisi posted his reaction on 'X'.

"Give asylum to anyone who is persecuted, but citizenship must not be based on religion or nationality. The govt should explain why it kept these rules pending for five years & why it's implementing it now," he wrote.

Owaisi claimed that along with NPR-NRC, CAA is meant to only target Muslims and it serves no other purpose.