Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan on Friday termed Governor Arif Mohammad Khan’s statement on Assembly’s resolution against the amended Citizenship law as “unfortunate” and said that the new Act is “unconstitutional”.
“It is unfortunate. We didn’t cross our limit or constitutional obligations. We have the right to uphold values of Constitution,” Sreeramakrishnan told reporters here while commenting on Governor’s statement that said the resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has “no legal or constitutional validity”.
Calling the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 a “violation” of Article 14 and 15 of Indian Constitution, the Speaker alleged that the Central government violated and said the new law is discriminatory.
BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao has filed a petition with the Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu seeking to initiate breach of privilege and contempt proceedings against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after the state Assembly passed a resolution seeking CAA withdrawal.
When asked about Rao’s petition, Sreeramakrishnan said: “It will not stand. Nobody can bring a privilege motion against something taking place in another Assembly.”
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.