“Scrap CAA,” The Kerala Assembly, on December 31, passed a resolution against the Citizenship Act.
As nationwide protests against the “unconstitutional” and “unsecular” CAA has engulfed India, some state governments have resolved against implementing it in their states.
The resolution was moved by the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, in the state assembly. Vijayan, while presenting the resolution, said the CAA was against the secular outlook and fabric of the country and would lead to religion-based discrimination in granting citizenship.
“The Act contradicts the basic values and principles of the Constitution. In view of the anxiety among the people of the country, the Centre should take steps to drop the CAA and uphold the secular outlook of the Constitution,” said Vijayan.
The Kerala Assembly, on Tuesday, passed a resolution demanding to scrap of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The CAA had been passed by both Houses of Parliament last month.
The ruling CPI(M)-LDF and the Opposition Congress-led UDF supported the resolution, while the only dissenting voice in the one-day special session was that of lone BJP MLA and former Union minister O Rajagopal.
The Chief Minister ensured that there wouldn’t be any detention centers in the southern state, and also added that the controversial Act has “dented India’s image in front of the international community.”
He also criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and BJP’s dangerous agenda to destroy the country’s secular principles and undermine the minorities.
“RSS considers Muslims, Christians, and Communists as their internal enemy. In Germany, Hitler similarly saw Jews and Bolsheviks as his internal enemy. RSS’s views are that of Hitler’s,” Vijayan said.
Leader of Opposition, Ramesh Chennithala, also suggested convening a special session of the State Assembly to pass the resolution for displaying Kerala’s stern opposition against the Act, which has been widely criticised as being discriminatory and as violating the secular principles of the Constitution.
Ramesh Chennithala was reported saying, “The Centre aims to turn India into a theocratic state. That’s why they have brought the CAA. They are going ahead with implementing the national population register (NPR). The Centre cannot go ahead without taking the states into confidence. We’re not against a census, but there are changes in the questionnaire. It is creating fear in the minds of people. Through the NPR, they want to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC).”
The State Assembly, in the past, has passed several resolutions against the policies of successive union governments on issues such as disinvestment, and the nuclear deal.