Kerala Assembly passes resolution demanding withdrawal of Citizenship Amendment Act

Kerala Assembly on Tuesday (December 31) passed a resolution demanding the withdrawal of Citizenship Amendment Act.

Amid the ongoing protests in different parts of the country against the newly enacted Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday (December 31) passed a resolution against the new legislation asking the Centre to scrap the CAA. The resolution was moved by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and was supported by all 140 MLAs in Assembly except BJP legislator O Rajagopal.

“I want to make it clear that no detention centres will come up in Kerala. Kerala has a long history of secularism, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, everyone reached our land. Christians and Muslims reached Kerala in the very beginning. Our tradition is of inclusiveness. Our assembly needs to keep the tradition alive,” CM Vijayan said on the floor of the House.

CM Vijayan asserted that the implementation of CAA is a “violation of the fundamental right of equality”. “The CAA 2019 passed by both houses of the Parliament has created concern among various communities, there has also been state wide protest against the same. In Kerala there has been a peaceful and untied agitation in general (against the CAA). The Act, which has set new guidelines for granting citizenship, is a violation of the fundamental right of equality as mentioned in the part III of the Constitution,” he noted.

The Kerala chief minister said that the Indian constitution is a milestone in the fight towards citizen rights and it is based on democracy, secularism, equality and scientific temper.

“National freedom movement was a convergence of various streams. The Indian constitution took shape with the essence of modern democracy and secular perspectives from such movements. Indian nationalism is based on lives and cultures of various communities. This is one reason the constitution has uphold the idea of unity in diversity,” he said.

The MLAs of the Congress and the CPI (M) also supported the move in state Assembly. “The NRC and CAA are the two sides of the same coin. The CAA is a clear violation of Article 13,14 and 15 of the Constitution,” Congress MLA VD Satheesan said.