The Punjab Congress on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind urging him against giving his assent to Citizenship (Amendment) Bill while the party's Haryana unit held a demonstration at Panchkula near here to protest against the Bill.
The Punjab Congress submitted the memorandum to the president through state Governor V P Singh Badnore.
The Punjab Congress delegation that met the governor here was led by party's state unit's president Sunil Jakhar.
Jakhar was accompanied by Punjab ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Aruna Chaudhary besides several MLAs, including Raj Kumar Verka and Pargat Singh.
After meeting the governor, Jakhar said the Central government has totally failed on the economic front and the country has been badly hit by the economic slowdown.
To hide its failure, the Modi government wanted to shatter the communal harmony by bringing Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 so that people can be distracted from the real issues of the country, he claimed.
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He said thousands of martyrs had made India a democratic nation by their supreme sacrifices.
We are proud of India being the largest democracy in the world. But the Modi government, for its vested political interest, was moving towards making the country a religion-based nation, he said.
Countries like Pakistan, which were established on the basis of religion, have been lagging behind on every front and on international platforms, yet the NDA government is pursuing its hidden agenda to make India a religion-based nation, he alleged.
The state Congress president also alleged that the task of dividing the society in the name of religion was left unfulfilled by the British but the BJP now wants to fulfil the British rulers' agenda".
Asserting that a religion-based citizenship is contrary to the basic spirit of secularism enshrined in our Constitution, Jakhar asked how would India progress, if the minorities in the country survive in a climate of fear and regret.
Jakhar alleged that the real game plan of the BJP government was to divert the attention of the people from the real issues by introducing this bill in such a hurry.
The Modi government had completely failed to resolve the issues related to the common people, he said.
The Haryana unit of the Congress, meanwhile, held a demonstration on Wednesday in Sector 5 of Panchkula to protest against the Bill.
Pradeep Chaudhary and Shailly Chaudhary, both Haryana MLAs and other Congress leaders from the state criticised the Modi Government for bringing the unconstitutional Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
They claimed the Bill was against the secular principles of the Constitution.
This amendment is the precursor of the National Register of Citizens, they said, adding it shows the ulterior intentions of the BJP Government to deprive the citizens of the legitimate rights provided by the Constitution".
The Congress leaders claimed the Bill reflected the ill-intentions of the ruling party, which can strike at the root of the national unity.
The Congressmen participating in the demonstration were carrying placards condemning the amendment and raised slogans against the Modi Government.
They also tore some papers in a symbolic gesture condemning the amendment bill.
The opposition parties, led by the Congress in Rajya Sabha, on Wednesday dubbed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as unconstitutional, alleging that it discriminates against refugees on the basis of religion, and cautioned the government that the proposed legislation would not stand judicial scrutiny.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which has already been approved by the Lok Sabha, proposes to give citizenship to Hindus, Christians, Parsis, Jains, Budhists and Sikhs facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.