Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan writes letter to his 11 counterparts seeking their support against Citizenship Act

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday wrote letters to his counterparts in 11 states including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asking them to consider passing a resolution against the amended Citizenship Act. This came days after the Kerala Assembly recently passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA).

CM Vijayan wrote to letters to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Nitish Kumar of Bihar, where BJP is sharing power with Janata Dal (United).

"...Kind attention is drawn to the resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly on December 31, 2019, expressing its concern regarding the impact the CAA will have on our nation`s secular credentials. The resolution requested the central government to repeal the CAA, 2019. States, which have the opinion that CAA should be repealed can also consider similar steps so that it will be an eye-opener to the proponents of the CAA and the NRC," Vijayan said in the letter.

The Chief Minister said that apprehensions have arisen among large sections of the society consequent to the CAA. "The need of the hour is unity among all Indians who wish to protect and preserve our cherished values of democracy and secularism," he added. Vijayan also said that the activities of the National Population Register (NPR) have stayed in the state.

"Kerala has decided to address the apprehensions about NRC and that preparation of NPR will lead to NRC by staying all activities relating to NPR in the state," he stated. BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao has filed a petition with the Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu seeking to initiate breach of privilege and contempt proceedings against the Kerala Chief Minister after the state Assembly had passed a resolution seeking the withdrawal of CAA.

CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has said that the CAA is not in India`s interest and it should not be implemented. "Kerala government or any other government in the country is elected government. Every Assembly has its set of rules... Our opinion is very clear that this is not in India`s interest and it should not be implemented," Yechury told reporters here when asked about Kerala Assembly`s resolution against the Citizenship law. "Their own concept of a Hindu Rashtra needs a unitary state structure. The slogan of Hindu, Hindi and Hindustan is a unitary state. They don`t accept federalism and diversity," he added.

Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan termed Governor Arif Mohammad Khan`s statement on Assembly`s resolution against the amended Citizenship law as "unfortunate" and said that the new Act is "unconstitutional". "It is unfortunate. We didn`t cross our limit or constitutional obligations. We have the right to uphold values of Constitution," Sreeramakrishnan told reporters here while commenting on Governor`s statement that aid the resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has "no legal or constitutional validity".

Calling the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 a "violation" of Article 14 and 15 of Indian Constitution, the Speaker alleged that the Central government violated and said the new law is discriminatory. BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao has filed a petition with the Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu seeking to initiate breach of privilege and contempt proceedings against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after the state Assembly passed a resolution seeking CAA withdrawal.

When asked about Rao`s petition, Sreeramakrishnan said: "It will not stand. Nobody can bring a privilege motion against something taking place in another Assembly."

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.