Vijayan said India is well-known as a country where people belonging to different castes, creed, and religions live together amicably
Thiruvananthpuram: On Tuesday the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act, asking the Central government to cancel the controversial legislation that has triggered nationwide protests. The resolution was supported by all the MLAs except BJP’s O Rajagopal. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had moved the resolution against the CAA.
Vijayan, who has accused the BJP government of executing the RSS agenda of dividing India into communal lines bypassing the Act, said in the state assembly, “I want to make it clear that no detention centers will come up in Kerala. Kerala has a long history of secularism, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, everyone reached our state. Christians and Muslims reached Kerala in the very beginning. Our tradition is of inclusiveness. Kerala assembly needs to keep the tradition alive.”
The implementation of CAA a “violation of the fundamental right of equality”, the Kerala CM said, “The CAA 2019 passed by both houses of the Parliament has created concern among various communities, there has also been a statewide agitation against the same. In Kerala, there has been a peaceful and untied agitation 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 Part III of the Constitution.”
A day after the Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha on December 11, Vijayan had hit out at the Narendra Modi-led government and said the “unconstitutional Bill” will have no place in Kerala and it will not implement here. While asking the people to oppose the Bill, CM Vijayan had claimed that the proposed law is a rejection of secularism and BJP had made it clear that its main political plank is communalism.
Vijayan said India is well-known as a country where people belonging to different castes, creed, and religions live together amicably.
On Tuesday Vijayan reiterated the same sentiment, saying the Indian constitution is a milestone in the fight towards citizen rights and a society based on equality and is based on democracy, secularism, equality, and scientific temper.
“National freedom movement was a convergence of many streams. The Indian constitution took shape with the essence of modern democracy and secular perspectives from such movements. Indian nationalism is based on the lives and cultures of several communities. This is one reason the constitution has uphold the idea of unity in diversity,” he added.
The Congress and the CPI(M) supported the move in Kerala Assembly, with Congress’s VD Satheesan saying, “Both 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.”
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