Hyderabad: Union minister of state for home G. Kishan Reddy on Sunday challenged Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to point out anything in the amended Citizenship Act that would affect anyone in the country.
Speaking to the reporters after hoisting the National Flag to mark Republic Day in his constituency Secunderabad, Mr Reddy reacted to Mr Rao’s statement that the Assembly may pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) like some other states have done recently.
Taking exception to the Chief Minister's criticism of the NDA government at the Centre over the CAA, he said, “I condemn KCR ji for announcing that he will not implement CAA in Telangana state. I challenge the Chief Minister to show if there is anything in the Act that affects any of the 130 crore people (in the country).”
He said that neither Mr Rao nor the TRS had the moral right to criticise the BJP on the matter.
State BJP president K. Laxman claimed that Mr Rao had joined the Congress in opposing the CAA with “unfounded doubts and ill- motives.”
The BJP has been stating that the Congress and the TRS were similar and it is becoming evident now, he alleged. Coming out strongly against the law, Mr Rao had on Saturday said that he may convene a meeting of regional parties and Chief Ministers to oppose the amended citizenship law.
Asserting that the TRS was secular by nature and policy, Mr Rao had said that passing the CAA was a wrong decision by the Centre as the Constitution provides fundamental rights to all people of the country irrespective of religion, caste and creed. As such, keeping Muslims outside the ambit of the CAA pained him, Mr Rao had said on Saturday.
