The Punjab Assembly is all set to see an “official resolution” for repealing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act on January 17, during the second day the special session of the Assembly.
The list of business released by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on January 16 includes the resolution to be moved by a Minister regarding the demand for repealing of the CAA.
The resolution reads: “The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country. The State of Punjab also witnessed protests against this legislation, which were peaceful and involved all segments of our society. The CAA seeks to negate the very secular fabric on which the Constitution of India is based. It is divisive and stands for everything opposed to a free and fair democracy which must enshrine equality for all.”
The resolution adds: “The CAA is aimed distinguishing illegal migrants on the basis of religion, which is not permissible under the Constitution. It is also violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees the Right to Equality and equal protection of the laws to all persons. CAA provides for granting citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014, but not to members of the Muslim community and others such as Jews.”
“The ideology behind the CAA is thus inherently discriminatory and is as far away as it can be from being a humanitarian measure. In the backdrop of these facts, it is evident that the CAA violates the secular identity of India, which is the basic feature of our Constitution; therefore the House resolves to urge upon the Government of India to repeal the CAA to avoid any discrimination on the basis of religion in granting citizenship and to ensure equality before law for all religious groups in India,” it said.
The Punjab government had earlier decided to go by the will of the House on the way forward with respect to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register.
