Attack on parliamentary democracy: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar has condemned the Centre's decision to notify the rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), saying the move just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls amounts to an attack on parliamentary democracy.

Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Pawar hit out at the Centre over the CAA notification which comes just ahead of the announcement of the schedule for Lok Sabha polls, likely to be held in April-May. "Such a decision days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls by the Election Commission of India (ECI) is an attack on parliamentary democracy. We condemn it," the former Union minister said.

The opposition NCP (SP) separately said the CAA decision has been taken to divert people's attention from the controversy over electoral bonds. "The CAA notification is a spin by the @BJP4India led government to take the attention away from the Electoral bonds issue," claimed Clyde Crasto, national spokesperson the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.