P Chidambaram also spoke of the people of Kashmir, who he said have been denied freedom. (File)
Amid nationwide agitation against citizenship law CAA, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today called for raising the level of protests and said "as long as freedom is denied to any number of people, the whole population is denied freedom".
Greeting people on Republic Day, Mr Chidambaram said the soul of the Constitution lies in the freedoms guaranteed to citizens. These freedoms were given by the people unto themselves and no government can take them away, he said in a series of tweets.
"Remember that today, we think of the 70 lakh people of the Kashmir valley whose freedoms have been taken away. Add to that the outrageous charges, including sedition, slapped against hundreds of protesters by the authoritarian government," Mr Chidambaram said.
"As we raise the flag today, let us also raise the level of protest," he said.
Besides Delhi, protests have flared up in several parts of the country against the amended Citizenship Act since it was passed in Parliament on December 11.
According to the amended law, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 to escape religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.