Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticized the Congress on Tuesday, accusing them of remaining silent on the Citizenship Amendment Act in their election manifesto. He suggested that this silence indicates their apprehension in addressing the controversial legislation.
Addressing a press conference here, he said the grand old party, in the manifesto for upcoming Lok Sabha polls, has promised to repeal many other laws which violated the Constutional norms, including the GST, if they come back to power.
However, he pointed out that despite promises to repeal other laws, there is a conspicuous absence of any mention of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which he alleged reflects a deliberate omission.
It can be seen that the CAA has been deliberately set aside in the manifesto without mention. This shows that the Congress, which promises to repeal several laws by particularly naming them in the manifesto, is afraid to speak about it," the chief minister said.
The chief minister said on page 8 of the Congress manifesto, the party promises to uphold the fundamental right to practice one's faith and the rights guaranteed to religious minorities under Articles 15, 16, 25, 26, 28, 29, and 30 of the Constitution. But the Congress does not address the issue being raised by the CAA with this, he said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was approved by Parliament in December 2019 and later received the President's assent. This led to widespread protests across the nation, with numerous opposition parties condemning the law as "discriminatory."