Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly opposes the notification of the rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act [CAA]. The CAA violates the secular principle of citizenship enshrined in the Constitution by linking citizenship to religious identity.
The rules notified under the Act operationalizes this discriminatory approach towards Muslims coming from neighboring countries. The implementation of the Act is also linked to the creation of a National Register of Citizens raising apprehensions that citizens of Muslim origin will be targetted.
The rules have been so devised as to exclude the state governments from the process of identifying and enrolling persons for citizenship in their state. This has obviously been done to exclude those state governments which have opposed the CAA itself.
The timing of the notification of the rules more than four years after the adoption of the CAA and just days before the notification for the Lok Sabha election makes it clear that the BJP wants to use the implementation of the CAA for divisive and polarising purposes.
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) reiterates its opposition to the CAA and its implementation and will continue with efforts to get this pernicious law annulled.