DMK, Trinamool to stay out of Left stir against citizenship act

The opposition parties have called for a nationwide strike on Thursday (December 19) to protest against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act passed by Parliament on December 11.

The Centre seemed to relegate the sporadic protests across the country to ‘isolated voices of dissent’ with Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying that the government was ‘steadfast’ on implementing the law.

The main opposition party, the Congress, but looked to have woken up to the political opportunity a bit late even as the more aggressive but feeble-in-reach Left tried to spearhead the attack. Here is a look at the situation in various states.

Tamil Nadu

The main opposition party in the state, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), held an all-party meeting at Anna Arivalayam, the party headquarters in Chennai. The meeting resolved to protest against the implementation of the Act.

Party chief MK Stalin said the party would hold a rally on December 23 against the implementation of the CAA.  “The Bill was supported by 11 RS MPs of the AIADMK and Anbumani Ramadoss of the PMK. The Bill got passed due to them. The people of Tamil Nadu will never pardon them,” he said.

The meeting was attended by MDMK chief Vaiko, MMK chief Jawahirullah, VCK founder Thol Thirumavalavan, CPI leader Mutharasan, CPM leader Balakrishnan and state Congress chief K.S. Alagiri.

Also read: SC refuses stay on Citizenship Act, sends notice to Centre

Bihar

With two neck-to-neck ‘Bihar bandhs’ (shutdowns) scheduled in the next three days over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the authorities are taking all steps to maintain peace at every cost.

The Left parties have called for a ‘Bihar bandh’ on December 19. The main opposition party in the state, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), headed by jailed politician Lalu Prasad, has given the call for a dawn-to-dusk state shutdown on December 21.

Sources said the police would be on high alert across the state with deployment being stepped up in sensitive pockets.  “We have alerted all the district superintendents of police and directed them to ensure order. There is no problem with the people holding peaceful protests but those who indulge in violence will be sternly dealt with and severe legal action will be taken against them,” Additional Director-General of Police, Bihar, Jitendra Kumar said.

In state capital Patna, additional forces had been deployed in sensitive pockets. The authorities have issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 around Kargil Chowk, which, of late, has emerged as the centre of protest, quite like Delhi’s Jantar-Mantar.

Despite all this, the police are worried about the fact that most opposition parties have thrown their weight behind these protests and shutdowns.

In addition to 10 students’ organizations, the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Hindustan Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party have extended their support to the Bihar shutdowns called by the Left and the RJD.

“This is not a fight for people’s rights but the fight for their existence. How can they claim their rights when they cease to be citizens? This has panicked the poor, deprived sections, mazdoors and the minorities,” senior CPI-ML leader Kumar Pervez said.

He said they were getting support from the masses and added that the protests would continue till the CAA and NRC were withdrawn. “The NDA government came to power at the centre with our votes but now we are being told to prove our own citizenship,” he wondered.

He also slammed Chief Minister and JD-U president Nitish Kumar from taking a U-turn on the issue and then launching repressive measures on the people protesting on the streets ‘despite the fact that he himself was part of the 1974 students’ movement led by veteran socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan.’

Also read: Opinion | Resistance to CAA shows how to deal with BJP’s Gujarat model of conflict

The RJD is also mobilising its 60 lakh party workers to make its shutdown a grand success. “We will continue our fight against anti-people and anti-Constitutional policies on the streets and in Parliament till the end,” said RJD lawmaker and Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Tejashwi Yadav.

The RJD said ‘black laws’ such as the CAA and the NRC were being used to ‘break’ the nation.

The ruling JD-U led by the chief minister looks completely split on the twin issues. While the JD-U has supported the Bill in Parliament, scores of top party leaders such as Prashant Kishor, national vice-president; Pawan Kumar Varma, national general secretary-cum-national spokesperson; and several party legislators are opposed to the stand of the party.

Curiously, the chief minister himself has maintained a studied silence and is yet to act against the revolting leaders, amply indicating he has come under tremendous pressures.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

With students’ protests continuing in Osmania University and Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in Hyderabad, the Telangana police has tightened security. “We are fully geared up to maintain law and order and ensure peace,” a senior police officer said.

Barring the two campuses, which saw students hitting the streets, the police don’t foresee any trouble in the rest of Telangana.

Several students gathered at the main entrance of the MANUU campus on Tuesday (December 17) and raised slogans against the Delhi police and Union government for introducing the ‘divisive’ CAA.

Also read: CAA: Madras Univ students continue stir for third day; varsity closed till Dec 23

The MANUU Teachers Association (MANUUTA), MANUU Employees Welfare Association (MEWA) and MANUU Administrative Officers Association (MANUUTA) took out a rally on the campus in the morning to condemn the ‘brutal attack’ on students of Jamia Millia and AMU.

The police prevented outsiders from entering the university as a precautionary measure. The police erected barricades on the road leading to the university and did not allow anyone except students of MANUU into the campus.

At Osmania University, students took out a rally and held a candlelight vigil at the Arts College building while at the University of Hyderabad (UoH), the students took out a torch rally on the campus and burnt Union Home Minister Amit Shah in effigy.

TRS opposes CAA

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill and voted against it in the Parliament. The All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), an ally of TRS and a formidable political force in Hyderabad, has been the most vociferous opponent of the legislation, dubbing it as an affront to the basic tenets of the Constitution.

The TRS is mindful of the “genuine concerns” of the Muslim community, which forms 13 percent of the state’s population, and has fashioned its strategy on the CAA accordingly.

Besides, it does not want to antagonise its ally AIMIM which has steadfastly supported the ruling party on key issues and stood by the government in difficult situations including during the recent strike by the employees of the State Road Transport Corporation.

After supporting the Centre on several key issues in the past, including the abrogation of Article 370 and amendment to the RTI Act, the TRS had, for the first time, issued a whip to its MPs to vote against the CAB in the Lok Sabha.

Contrasting picture in Andhra

On the other hand, the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh presents a contrasting picture, with both the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supporting the CAA and voting in favour of it in Parliament.

Since the major parties are not supporting the nationwide protest call, the AP police do not foresee any trouble on Thursday.

West Bengal

The Trinamool Congress, which hit the streets under the leadership of its chairperson Mamata Banerjee, is unlikely to join the nationwide protest. The party will continue with its protest separately.

“As of now, I am not aware of any protest call. My party will be protesting against the CAA as it has been doing in various parts of West Bengal,” said TMC MP Sougata Roy.

Banerjee on Tuesday (December 17), before commencing her protest march in South Kolkata, had called upon everyone, other than the BJP, to join her “movement” against the “draconian” law.

However, the Left parties and the Congress, not only remained aloof to her call, but also blamed the ruling TMC for the violence in the state. Left parties and the Congress in West Bengal were in a ‘political understanding’ during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and since then they have been carrying out all major agitations together.

Kerala

Kerala witnessed a rare coming together of the Left and the Congress as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPI(M) and Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala shared the dais at a protest organised against the Citizenship Amendment Act recently.

With this, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) will put a united fight against the new law. The Congress and all the UDF allies have agreed to be part of the December 19 strike against the law, as well.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is also part of the UDF and the Congress has traditionally been soft-pedalling and side-stepping the Islamist extremist tendencies in the state of Kerala.

The CPM has always been hard on the hard-core Islamist outfits like the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the National Development Front (NDF). It is to be seen as to how the political dynamics of the state will shape up in the context of the opposing allies coming together on the new law, especially with a sizeable Muslim population supporting the UDF.

Odisha

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the ruling BJD does not support the NRC but backs the amended citizenship law, noting that it applies only to foreigners. He also appealed to the people of Odisha to maintain peace and not fall for rumours.

“The amended Citizenship Act has nothing to do with Indians. It deals only with foreigners. The BJD MPs both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have made it clear that we do not support the NRC,” Patnaik told reporters before leaving for the national capital.

The chief minister’s statement came a day after people protesting the Act took out a peaceful rally in the state capital and urged Patnaik to make the BJD government’s stance clear on the amended citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).