Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday described the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as a law that creates division along communal lines and affirmed that it will not be put into effect in the southern state.
"The government has repeatedly stated that the Citizenship Amendment Act, which treats Muslim minorities as second-class citizens, will not be implemented in Kerala. That remains the position. All of Kerala will stand united in opposing this communally divisive law," Vijayan said in a statement here.
His statement came shortly after the Centre announced the implementation of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
This act grants citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
Slamming the Centre's decision, Vijayan said that the Union Home Ministry issued the notification regarding the CAA just before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections and alleged that it was done to create unrest in the country.
"This is to divide the people, incite communal sentiment, and undermine the very basic principles of the Constitution," he charged.
Vijayan said it is imperative to collectively oppose the attempt to stratify Indian citizens and deny them equal rights.
In a strongly-worded statement, he asserted that this move can only be viewed as a component of the Hindutva communal agenda of the Sangh Parivar.
"It is a flagrant violation of the Constitution to grant citizenship to non-Muslims who immigrated to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014, while denying citizenship solely to Muslims.
"Defining Indian citizenship based on religion is unacceptable. It poses an open challenge to humanity, the nation's traditions, and its people," Vijayan asserted.
The chief minister said that the Kerala Legislature was the first to pass a resolution against the CAA.
"The government in Kerala has announced that the NPR (National Population Register) will not be implemented in the state. A suit was filed against the central government in the Supreme Court citing the unconstitutionality of the CAA, and a human chain was formed on the national highway from northern Manjeswaram to southern Parassala," the chief minister pointed out.
He criticised the Sangh Parivar, saying it "insists that it will implement its communal agenda regardless of popular protests and criticism." The CAA was passed in December 2019 and subsequently got the President's assent but there were protests in several parts of the country against it, with many opposition parties speaking out against the law calling it "discriminatory".
The law could not come into effect as rules had not been notified till now.
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