Kolkata, January 27: The West Bengal legislative assembly on Monday passed a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The state became fourth - after Kerala, Punjab and Rajasthan - to adopt a resolution against the citizenship law which allegedly discriminates against the Muslims. While putting the resolution to vote, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to divide India.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which enjoys an absolute majority of 210 MLAs in the 294-member assembly, succeeded in passing the resolution with effectively no opposition. The Congress and CPI(M) did not oppose the resolution, whereas, the BJP legislators staged a walkout. FIR Lodged Against Bengal BJP Chief For 'Shot Them Like Dogs' Remark Against Anti-CAA Protesters.

"I will not allow the BJP to divide India. They want to pit one community against each other," Mamata told the assembly, adding that the CAA is a ploy in view of the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). Neither will her government implement the CAA nor allow the Centre to execute the "dangerous" NRC exercise, she added.

Update by ANI

The CAA was passed by the Parliament in mid-December with the stated intent to naturalise non-Muslim refugees who entered from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014. Critics view the law, through the prism of proposed nationwide NRC, as a ploy to strip a vulnerable section of Indian Muslims of their citizenship.

Kerala was the first state to adopt the anti-CAA resolution, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala joining hands to enact the move with a 138:1 majority in the House. Kerala was followed by Punjab, where Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh passed the resolution with a two-third majority in the Assembly. Singh had compared the Centre's citizenship project to the pre-Holocaust era in Nazi Germany.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 27, 2020 04:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).