TN Assembly adopts resolution urging Union Govt to repeal CAA

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution urging the Union government to revoke the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to uphold the secular principles enshrined in the Constitution. Moving the resolution, Chief Minister M.K.Stalin said religion is not a base for getting citizenship and no law can be brought based on religious lines.

The resolution moved by Chief Minister M K Stalin said the CAA passed by the Parliament in 2019 "is not in tune with the secular principles laid down in our Constitution and also not conducive to the communal harmony that prevails in India."

As per established democratic principles, a nation should be governed taking into consideration the aspirations and concerns of the people belonging to all sections of the society. He also said the CAA is against the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Stalin said refugees should be looked like human beings and asked what need was there for a law when people are living harmoniously.

"But it is clearly seen that the CAA was passed in such a way that it does not accord a warm support to the refugees considering their plight, but instead discriminates them according to their religion and their country of origin." Hence, to "protect and ensure the unity and communal harmony in this country and to uphold the secular principles enshrined in the Constitution of India, this august House resolves to urge the Union government to repeal the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019." The Bill was adopted.

The main opposition AIADMK's members were not in the House during its passage. They staged a walkout over issues they tried to raise during the zero hour.

Leader of the Opposition K Palaniswami told reporters that they could not raise key issues in the House as they did not get the nod from Speaker M Appavu and even some views expressed by them - following permission for a brief while - were later expunged.

Condemning this, Palaniswami said, his party staged a walkout.

Opposing the motion, BJP legislator Nainar Nagendran said the CAA has absolutely nothing against Muslims living in India. "The CM today speaks of communal harmony, but does not even greet people for Hindu festivals including Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali," he said. He and other legislators of BJP walked out of the house.

The CAA, 2019 amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 enabling citizenship to religious minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) who were persecuted in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and arrived in India before December 2014.