Ernakulam: Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader PK Kunhalikutty came out in support of the Kerala government’s decision not to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019.
Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Kunhalikutty questioned the ‘need’ to implement such a law claiming that it is not welcomed by anyone.
“Why should they implement a law that has not been welcomed by anyone in India? What is the need? Why are they taking a partisan stand in the matter of citizenship? There is no precedent of any such legislation elsewhere in the world. No one likes it. It is not welcomed by anyone. So why are they forcing it on people?” Kunhalikutty said.
“There are many states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal that are against this law. We are with the Kerala government and will pass a resolution taking a stand against this law,” he said.
Earlier, on March 11, after the Union Home Ministry notified the rules of the CAA, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared that Kerala will not implement the Act.
“LDF government approached the Supreme Court to confirm that Kerala would not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act. Kerala is the first state to move a plea against CAA in the Supreme Court. The state will initiate further legal action soon,” Vijayan said.
On March 14, the Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP and CPI Kerala State Secretary Binoy Viswam approached the Supreme Court challenging the implementation of the CAA.
“Provisions of the CAA are prima-facie against the secular tenets of our Constitution and we have approached the Supreme Court requesting to halt the implementation of the dreaded law, which goes against the inclusive fabric of Indian society”, he said.
Binoy Viswam in a statement said that the CPI has been steadfastly opposing CAA from the initial period itself.
Apart from Kerala, Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have also announced that the CAA will not be implemented in their respective states.
On March 11, the Union Home Ministry notified the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule.
The CAA rules, introduced by the Narendra Modi government and passed by Parliament in 2019, aim to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants–including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians–who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
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