WASHINGTON: City of Saint Paul, the state capital of Minnesota in the USA, has became the fourth city to pass the Resolution enacted Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) declaring ruling Bhartiya Janta Party as Islamophobic.
The resolution RES 20-712 was passed with a 5-0 decision condemning the “Islamophobic ideology and standing in solidarity with all the minorities of India.”
It said that the Citizenship Amended Act passed on December 11, 2019 under the leadership of PM Modi led BJP government discriminates against millions of Muslims as it uses religion as a criterion for Indian citizenship.
The Act seeks to provide Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists fleeing persecution in neighbouring Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and other Muslim countries.
The resolution was supported by 36 organizations, including Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Muslim Caucus of America, Hindus for Human Rights, Jewish Voice for Peace Twin Cities, The Advocates for Human Rights – and locally, SEIU Local 284, the Minnesota Nurses Association, Jewish Community Action and World Without Genocide.
Meanwhile, Hindu American Foundation leaders, launched a letter writing campaign and coordinated 12,000 letters opposing the resolution.
“St. Paul’s resources are better spent on building community, not dividing it,” adding the “hypocrisy is breathtaking.”