THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged non-BJP NDA Chief Ministers to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act (AA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and consider passing resolutions in their respective State Assemblies demanding the repeal of the Act.
In a letter written to 11 chief ministers, Mr Vijayan drew their attention towards the resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly urging the repeal of Citizenship Amendment Act. The states which are of the opinion that the legislation should be repealed can also consider similar steps so that it will be an eye-opener to the proponents of the CAA and NRC, he added.
The letter was sent to the Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Punjab, Maharasthra, Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Telagana state didn't figure in the list.
Sources in CMO said the letter may not have been written to Telangana state as it is yet to come out on a joint platform against the CAA.
Mr Vijayan said the CAA had created widespread apprehensions among a large section of society across the country.
“The need of the hour is unity among all Indians who wish to protect and preserve our cherished values of democracy and secularism. People from a cross-section of society irrespective of any differences they might have, need to stand united in preserving the basic tenets of our polity which form the corner stone of Indian democracy,” he added.
He said Kerala had decided to address the apprehensions about National Register of Citizens. Since the National Population Register will lead to the National Register of Citizens, all works related to it have been stayed in Kerala.
