While the DMK is turning up the heat on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens, voices calling for the rejection of the NRC have emerged within the ruling party as well.
The AIADMK’s minorities wing secretary and former Ramanathapuram MP, A. Anwhar Raajhaa, has written to Chief Minister and party co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami, urging him not to implement the NRC in the State.
The former MP told The Hindu on Tuesday that he had also spoken to party coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam regarding the issue. Mr. Raajhaa, however, said there was nothing wrong with the CAA.
Till date, neither Mr. Palaniswami nor his Cabinet colleagues have made public the State government’s stand on the NRC. Other parties that had voted for the CAA in Parliament, like the AIADMK did, have expressed their opposition to the NRC. Besides several Chief Ministers belonging to the Opposition, Naveen Patnaik of the BJD in Odisha, Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) in Bihar and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh have unequivocally made clear that they are opposed to the NRC.
When asked about the AIADMK’s stand on the issue, a senior functionary of the ruling party said, “Already, we have received enough flak for having supported the CAA. For the time being, we are not going to say anything publicly on the NRC.”
Recently, a federation of Jamaaths in Ranipet decided to remove AIADMK Rajya Sabha member and former Minister A. Mohammedjan from the post of the patron of Jamaaths, as a mark of protest against his decision to back the CAA.
