Ahmed Patel said it would be a clear message to the central government (File)
The Congress is planning to bring resolutions against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the legislative assemblies of states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which are ruled by it, senior leader Ahmed Patel said on Sunday. Congress-ruled Punjab and Left-ruled Kerala have already brought resolutions against the contentious law that, for the first time in India, makes religion a test for citizenship.
"After Punjab, we are thinking about bringing resolution against Citizenship Amendment Act in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. It would be a clear message to the Central government to reconsider the Act," Mr Patel was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
While the government claims that the law will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan - to get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution before 2015, critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.
The resolution introduced by Punjab Minister Bramh Mohindra last week said the ideology behind the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is "inherently discriminatory and as far away as it can be from being a humanitarian measure."
"It is evident that the CAA violates the secular identity of India, which is basic feature of our Constitution; therefore, the House resolves to urge the Government of India to repeal the CAA to avoid any discrimination on the basis of religion in granting citizenship and to ensure equality before law for all religious groups in India," it read.
It came days after Pinarayi Vijayan's government in Kerala had passed a resolution in this regard. The government has also challenged the law in the Supreme Court.
Nationwide protests had broken out after the bill was passed in parliament last month. Several people were killed in Karnataka, Assam and Uttar Pradesh after the protests turned violent.
The critics of the law say it is a prelude to the nationwide implementation of the National Register of Citizens.
The centre, however, has said the two are not linked, and there have been no talks on implementing citizens' register across the country.
The Opposition parties last week held a meeting in which it was decided that the states who refuse to implement the NRC must suspend the process of National Population Register.