Kerala Assembly Passes Resolution demanding Withdrawal of CAA

Kerala's Pinarayi Vijayan, one of the first chiefministers to declare that his government will block implementation of theamended citizenship law and the citizens' register, on Tuesday got the stateassembly to back him up.

PinarayiVijayan, while delivering his sharp message to the BJP-led national coalitionafter the assembly voted 138:1 in favour of the resolution that demands theCentre scrap amendments to the citizenship law and the National PopulationRegister said, "The Centre should come of its parochial and sectarian outlookand treat everyone equally."

Kerala assembly is the first to pass a resolutionagainst changes to the citizenship law and the exercise to build a populationregister that will form the database to create a citizens' register.

Theruling Left Democratic Front has a majority in the 139-member assembly. Plus,the move was also supported by the Congress-led United Democratic Front andlawmakers.

ORajagopal, the lone Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker in the state assembly, wasthe only one to oppose the resolution, insisting that it was unconstitutionalto dismiss a law enacted by Parliament and against the country's federalpolity. Much of his speech was, however, lost in the din and disruptions.

"The new citizenship law is against the secular fabricof the country," said Chief Minister Vijayan in the assembly as he stood up topropose a resolution that asks the BJP-led national coalition to withdraw theCitizenship (Amendment) Act passed by Parliament during the Winter Session.

Theruling Left Democratic Front, which had called a special assembly session todebate the proposal, expects the resolution against a law enacted by Parliamentto be passed when it is put to a vote.

ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan said the new law, combined with the National Registerof Citizens, was designed to turn members of the minority community secondclass citizens. This cannot be allowed, he said, appealing to members tosupport the resolution irrespective of their political affiliations.