News Tamil Nadu

DMK & AIADMK Oppose CAA Implementation, Law Is Meant To Expedite Citizenship Process For Religiously Persecuted Non-Muslim People Of Pak, Bangladesh & Afghanistan

January 31, 2024
The Commune

Union Minister of State for Shipping, Santanu Thakur, addressing a rally in Kakdwip, South 24 Parganas district on 28 January 2024, declared plans for the rapid implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) within a week. 

Thakur, who represents the BJP in the Bongaon Lok Sabha seat with a significant Matua community, asserted, “Ram Mandir has been inaugurated. Within the next one week, CAA will be implemented not only in West Bengal but also across the country.” 

In response, the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal dismissed the assertion as mere “poll rhetoric” and pledged to thwart the implementation of CAA in the state. 

The Citizenship Amendment Act enacted by the BJP-led government in 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered India before 31 December 2014. Opposition parties allege that this legislation is specifically aimed at targeting Indian Muslims, potentially depriving them of their citizenship if implemented.

It is noteworthy to mention that the state government has no role in in granting/expediting citizenship process.

However, in the latest response to this controversy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, currently on a tour to Spain, expressed his dissatisfaction on his official X handle quoting from The Hindu report, stating that, “A Union Minister of state from BJP has said that CAA will be implemented not only in West Bengal but all over India in seven days. ADMK is the very first reason that CAB became an Act that supported and voted in the parliament against Sri Lankan Tamils ​​and Muslims. Although we were an opposition party at that time, the Kazhagam held protests on a very large scale in collaboration with companion organizations got signatures from two crore people, and sent it to the President. As soon as we came to power in 2021, we passed a resolution in the assembly demanding the withdrawal of CAA. The DMK government will never allow the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in Tamil Nadu. The people of the country are watching the BJP government’s subversive activities against religious harmony and the insidious dramas of the ADMK supporting it. I am sure. We will not let CAA set foot in Tamil Nadu! #NoCAAInTamilNadu”

 

Immediately, there were varied reactions from netizens, with some expressing support for and others opposing the CAA. One internet user commented, “Long live Dravidam. Let grow social justice”

 

 

A different online user attempted to elucidate the legislation and mentioned, “With due respect, CAA is for persecuted non-Muslim migrants including Hindus, Christians, Jains, Sikhs, Bhudist and Parsis living in neighbouring Muslim nations. Could you elucidate what is the cause of concern with CAA for DMK. #isupportCAA”

A different user mockingly captioned a picture of the 2021 DMK election manifesto that stated, “The Central Government will be urged to add citizenship to the stateless Sri Lankan Tamils in camps in India by joining the fourth nation Sri Lanka with the three countries mentioned in the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.”

Edappadi K. Palaniswami too opposed the implementation of CAA while slamming the DMK for hoodwinking minorities by voting in favour NIA and UAPA laws.

“All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will never allow minority people to be affected by CAA. We have already told the Assembly during our rule that our government will not stand idly by if the CAA Act creates problems for the Muslims and Eelam Tamils in Tamil Nadu.”, Edappadi K. Palaniswami said in an X post.

He further said “The DMK has been betraying the minorities by making a political capital of and doing drama over communal politics, while cooperate with the BJP when they are in power and opposing them when they are not in power. Having supported the NIA and UAPA laws which affects the minorities severely, people are watching the drama of the DMK, which only shows opposition to the BJP in statements and stage speeches.”

Citizenship Amendment Act:

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) facilitates citizenship for non-Muslim communities, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians, from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who entered India on or before 31 December 2014.

The law is a fallout of the bloody partition of India which put non-Muslim minorities in Muslim-majority neighbouring countries of India at the mercy of the Islamic state. State-sponsored and aided persecution led non-Muslim minorities in these countries to flee and come to India. Hence the law aims to heal the wounds of partition by expediting the citizenship process for those who are staying as refugees in India for decades.

Originating as the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in 2016, the bill aimed to amend the Citizenship Act 1955.  The intent of the act is to grant citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Home Minister Amit Shah during the Times Now Summit stated, “the Citizenship (Amendment) Act does not contain any provision that strips anyone of their citizenship, nor is it anti-Muslim or anti-minority. Mr. Shah referenced Gandhi’s stance, noting that the Father of the Nation himself advocated for the respectful treatment, dignity, and granting of citizenship in India to non-Muslims facing persecution in Pakistan”.

During a rally in Delhi, the Prime Minister of India emphasized that the opposition is spreading misinformation and falsehoods about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). He clarified that both the CAA and NRC have no impact on Indian Muslims.

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