Image: PTI
After the Kerala Assembly, Capt. Amarinder Singh’s government in Punjab passed a resolution in the state Assembly demanding the repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act on Friday.
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh has been very vocal about his criticism of the CAA and NRC. He had also voiced his concern about the attacks on the students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, urging the Delhi Police to take strict action against the culprits.
Any legislation that seeks to divide people on religious lines is illegal, unethical & unconstitutional. India’s strength lies in its diversity and #CABBill2019 violates the basic principle of the constitution. Hence my govt will not allow the bill to be implemented in Punjab.
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) December 12, 2019
With regards to the CAA-NPR-NRC, he had written an open letter to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asking him to urge the Central government to pay heed to the voice of the people.
As the leader of the state, I took my oath under the Constitution @rsprasad Ji. I’m neither naive nor misguided & it’s my duty to represent the voice of my people & Centre must pay heed to same. As the law minister, you’d know that #CAA fails the test of the Constitution. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/QKa68CDGi4
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) January 3, 2020
In a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday this week, the CM and his colleagues in the ministry had voiced their concerns over the “blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA, NRC and NPR.”
Singh had earlier said that neither he nor the Congress were opposed to granting citizenship to minorities persecuted on the basis of religion but did not agree to the “discrimination in the CAA against certain religious communities, including Muslims”.
State Minister Brahm Mohindra read out the resolution saying, “The CAA enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country. The state of Punjab also witnessed protests against this legislation, which were peaceful and involved all segments of our society.”
The minister also called for the government to do away with the CAA saying it was “against humanistic values and secular values.”
The Tribune reported that the resolution stated, “It is divisive and stands for everything opposed to a free and fair democracy which must enshrine equality for all. Alongside the religion-based discrimination in granting citizenship, it is apprehended that the CAA is also likely to endanger the linguistic and cultural identity of some sections of our people. CAA also envisages cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OC) card holders, if they violate any law.”
It also stated, “The CAA is aimed at distinguishing illegal migrants on the basis of religion, which is not permissible under the Constitution. It is also violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees the Right to Equality and equal protection of the laws to all persons. In the backdrop of these facts, it is evident that the CAA violates the secular identity of India, which is the basic feature of our Constitution; therefore the House resolves to urge upon the Government of India to repeal the CAA to avoid any discrimination on the basis of religion in granting citizenship and to ensure equality before law for all religious groups in India.
Given the apprehensions about National Register of Citizens (NRC) and that the National Population Register (NPR) is a prelude to the NRC designed to. Depriving section of persons from citizenship of India and implement CAA, this House further resolves that Central Government should amend the forms documentation associated with the NPR to allay such apprehension in the minds of the people and only thereafter undertake work of enumeration under NPR.”
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