Citizenship (Amendment) Bill attack on secular, democratic character of India: Kerala CM

A day after the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed in the Lok Sabha, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that it is an "attack on the secular and democratic character of India."

"The Constitution of India guarantees the right to citizenship for all Indians; irrespective of their religion, caste, language, culture, gender or profession. This very right is being made void by the Citizenship Amendment Bill. A move to decide citizenship on the basis of religion amounts to a rejection of the Constitution. This is an exercise to divide people into communal lines. The bill, which aims to enervate our secular unity, was passed by the Lok Sabha with unusual haste and tenacity," Vijayan said in a statement.

Muslims who have immigrated from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan are being excluded, he said.

"The discrimination on the basis of religion, and preferential granting of rights is a denial of natural justice. The bill mentions that people belonging to six religious groups, from three neighbouring countries, can be granted citizenship. These two clauses must be withdrawn," Vijayan said.

"It is not unknown to the Sangh Parivar that India houses refugees from Sri Lanka, in addition to the three mentioned countries. The amendment bill serves the communal policies of the Sangh Parivar and their devious plans to establish a non-secular state. The articles of the Constitution that relate to citizenship and fundamental rights are being violated here," he added.

The Kerala Chief Minister went on to say that India belongs to "Indians of all kinds."

"Efforts to undermine this fact will only take our country backwards. It will destroy our hard-fought freedom. We must not let that happen," he said.