Speaking out against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, BJP MLA Narayan Tripathi, who had cross-voted in favour of a Congress Bill in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly last year, said we should either respect the Constitution and not formulate divisive laws based on religion, or tear it off and throw it away.
‘Polarised villages’
Abandoning the party line, the Maihar legislator highlighted how the law had polarised villages with former friends and neighbours refusing to even look at each other now.
“Where there are internal disputes, peace can’t prevail. We talk about Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The world is one family) on one hand, and on the other divide the country based on religion. The country can’t be run like this,” he said.
Stating that he hailed from a rural area and understood the villages well, he said, “The poor are still trying to get Aadhaar cards made. Collecting so many papers just to prove citizenship will be impossible.”
Mr. Tripathi claimed there was rising unemployment, poverty and illiteracy in the country. “Doing vote-bank politics and dividing people on religious lines is not appropriate for today. Where there is no brotherhood, there is no progress,” he said.
Welcoming the comments, State Congress spokesman Durgesh Sharma said, “Every Indian who cares for the country and the Constitution will surely speak out against the CAA and the nationwide implementation of the National Register of Citizens. Mr. Tripathi’s opposition is a protest against the divisive ideology of the BJP. And his stand is in the interest of the country.”
On July 24 last year, Mr. Tripathi, along with another party MLA Sharad Kaul, had stunned the BJP by cross-voting in favour of a Bill moved by the ruling Congress in the Vidhan Sabha. Formerly a Congressman, he had switched to the BJP in 2014, and termed the vote a ghar waapsi (homecoming).
The comments spell anxiety for the BJP in the State, already grappling with a spate of resignations from its minority cell over the CAA since December. Last Friday, 67 members quit the party in Indore. Earlier, hundreds of workers quit the party in Khargone, Guna, Burhanpur, Bhopal and Satna districts. Party State secretary Akram Khan too has put in his papers.
