Thackeray Govt Must Take Cue From Kerala, Pass Resolution in Maharashtra Assembly Against CAA: Congress' Arif Naseem Khan

Mumbai, December 31: Shortly after the Kerala legislative assembly passed a resolution to scrap the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), senior Congress leader in Maharashtra, Arif Naseem Khan, demanded Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to replicate the same in the state. Khan, a former state cabinet minister, said the Thackeray government should call a special assembly session over the CAA-NRC row at the earliest.

The government, he demanded, must take cue from Kerala's Left Democratic Front regime and pass a similar resolution to prevent the implementation of National Population Register (NPR), which is considered to be a precursor to the contentious National Register of Citizenship (NRC) exercise.

"We welcome this decision by Kerala government, all state governments, including the Thackeray government in Maharashtra should call a session of assembly, asking the central government to withdraw Citizenship Amendment Act," Khan said.

Update by ANI

The 140-member Kerala assembly, earlier today, took the legislative route to bar the CAA-NRC-NPR exercise in the coastal state. A total of 138 legislators, belonging to both the ruling LDF and Opposition coalition of UDF, voted in favour of the resolution moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Before the voting on resolution, Vijayan told the House that the BJP-ruled Centre must rise above sectarian and communal views. The government, he said, must uphold the principle of secularism which is enshrined in the Constitution. He further accused the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to turn India into a country based on religion.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 31, 2019 04:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).