Punjab toes Kerala's line, passes anti-CAA resolution in assembly

The Punjab Assembly on Friday (January 17) passed a resolution against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). With this, Punjab became the second state to challenge the constitutional validity of the legislation in the assembly after Kerala.

The resolution, which was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra on the second day of the two-day special assembly session, was passed through a voice vote after over three hours of discussion.

After the session, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh told reporters, “We’ve sent draft to Centre to make changes necessary to make CAA acceptable to everyone. Census is being carried out now, it’ll be done on old level. Every citizen will be counted whether he is Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian or anybody.”

While the ruling Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supported the resolution, the BJP opposed it. The SAD sought inclusion of Muslims in the list of communities that could be granted citizenship under the amended law.

“The CAA enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country. The state of Punjab also witnessed protests against this legislation, which were peaceful and involved all segments of our society,” Mohindra said while reading out the resolution.

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The state Congress government had on Tuesday said it will proceed according to the “will of the House” on the issue of CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had recently said his government would not allow the implementation of the “brazenly divisive CAA”.

The resolution said the amended law on citizenship seeks to negate the very secular fabric on which the Constitution of India is based.

“It is divisive and stands for everything opposed to a free and fair democracy, which must enshrine equality for all. Alongside the religion-based discrimination in granting citizenship, it is apprehended that the CAA is also likely to endanger the linguistic and cultural identity of some sections of our people. CAA also envisages cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders, if they violate any law,” the resolution said.

It further said the CAA is aimed at distinguishing between illegal migrants on the basis of religion, which is not permissible under the Constitution that guarantees the right to equality and equal protection of the laws to all persons.

CAA provides for granting citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014, but not to members of the Muslim community.

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The ideology behind the CAA is “inherently discriminatory and as far away as it can be from being a humanitarian measure,” the resolution alleged.

“In the backdrop of these facts, it is evident that the CAA violates the secular identity of India, which is basic feature of our Constitution; therefore, the House resolves to urge the Government of India to repeal the CAA to avoid any discrimination on the basis of religion in granting citizenship and to ensure equality before law for all religious groups in India.

“Given the apprehensions about National Register of Citizens and that the National Population Register is a prelude to the NRC designed to deprive a section of persons from citizenship of India and implement CAA, this House further resolves that Central government should amend the forms/documentation associated with the NPR to allay such apprehension in the minds of the people and only thereafter undertake work of enumeration under NPR,” the resolution said.

Earlier, the Kerala assembly had passed a similar resolution stating the amended Citizenship law was against secularism envisaged by the Indian Constitution and urged the central government to repeal the law.

Meanwhile, Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Friday slammed the Kerala government for passing the anti-CAA resolution in the assembly. “Kerala government should realise they are not above law, they aren’t above the Constitution. They should not waste public money by passing resolutions and going to courts on such issues,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)