CM misleading people by claiming to not implement CAA in Kerala: UDF

Kochi, Mar 14 (PTI) The Congress-led UDF on Thursday said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was misleading the people by saying that the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 would not be implemented in the state.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly V D Satheesan said the CAA was a central law that has been passed by the Parliament and the rules under it have been notified.

"It is applicable everywhere in India. To say that it would not be implemented here is a falsehood. Such a statement has no relevance," Satheesan told reporters here.

The opposition leader said the CM should show some "sincerity" to the cause by withdrawing the cases against those who participated in the anti-CAA protests in 2019.

Thereafter, he should join the protest to prevent implementation of the CAA in the country, the LoP further said.

"Pursuing legal remedies against it (CAA) and holding protests to make them (Centre) withdraw it, are the only solutions. We cannot simply say that it would not be implemented here," Satheesan said.

After the rules under the CAA were notified earlier this week by the Centre, Vijayan had denounced the legislation as divisive and assured that it would not be implemented in the state.

The CAA was passed in December 2019 and subsequently got the President's assent, but there were protests in several parts of the country against it, with many opposition parties speaking out against the law, calling it "discriminatory." The law could not come into effect earlier as its rules had not been notified till now.

This act grants citizenship to undocumented migrants of all religions -- except Muslims -- from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014. PTI