Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to 11 Chief Ministers, urging them to emulate the model set by the Kerala Assembly in passing a resolution demanding that the Centre scrap the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019.
Mr. Vijayan’s move to elicit the cooperation of 11 States in the fight against the CAA comes in the wake of Bharatiya Janata Party leader G.V.L. Narasimha Rao filing a petition with the Rajya Sabha Chairman for initiating breach of privilege proceedings against him for passing the resolution.
Mr. Vijayan, in his letter, said the Act had triggered apprehensions among large sections of society and the need of the hour was unity among all Indians who wished to protect the country’s democratic and secular values. People from different sections, irrespective of their different opinions, should unite to preserve the basic tenets of the polity which form the cornerstone of democracy, he said.
‘NPR put on hold’
Kerala had decided to address the apprehensions about the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Preparation of the National Population Register (NPR) would eventually lead to the NRC. The government had stayed all activities related to the NPR in the State, he said.
Drawing attention to the resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly on December 31 expressing concern over the impact of the CAA on the nation’s secular credentials and requesting the Centre to repeal it, Mr. Vijayan said States that felt that the Act should be repealed could consider similar steps. It would be an eye-opener to the proponents of CAA and NRC, he said.
The letter has been forwarded to the Chief Ministers of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
