Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday night appealed to Muslims not to believe what he termed as “rumours” on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
In a statement issued, ahead of the DMK-led opposition’s scheduled Monday rally against the CAA, Mr Palaniswami said the AIADMK, which is treading the path laid out by former Chief Ministers M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, “has always remained determined to protect minority communities from any harm.”
According to him, though the CAA did not affect Indian citizens, some people were spreading rumours among Muslims that their citizenship will be affected. “This is completely false. I request the people of Tamil Nadu to not believe in these false rumours,” he said.
During the discussion on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the parliament, AIADMK members stressed on the demand previously made by Jayalalithaa that the Sri Lankan Tamils residing in India be granted dual citizenship. He said that he reiterated the same demand in person to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during his recent visit to New Delhi. “We are firm about this demand,” he said.
Assuring that the State government was committed to the development and welfare of all the people, including minorities, he appealed to the people to maintain peace without heeding to “false propaganda”. He asked people to not spread rumours that could create tension and affect public peace.
