Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet passed a resolution Wednesday against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and sought its abrogation, contending the new law was against the Constitution’s secular character.
The resolution was passed during the State Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Kamal Nath, public relations department minister PC Sharma told reporters. Madhya Pradesh is currently ruled by the Congress.
Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have already passed resolutions demanding scrapping of the CAA.
Sharma said the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet passed the resolution describing CAA as ‘against the secular character of the Indian Constitution and differentiating people on religious lines’.
The CAA passed by Parliament in December last year endangers the ‘country’s secular fabric and tolerant nature’, the minister said.
“Secularism is the basic foundation of the Indian Constitution and which can’t be changed. It is clearly mentioned in the Constitution that India is a secular country. Besides, Article 14 of the Constitution grants equality to all citizens of the country under the law,” read a part of the resolution passed by the MP Cabinet.
The resolution asked the Centre to not only take back the CAA, but also clear doubts in the minds of citizens on the issue, as people across the country were protesting against it.
The CAA, under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship, came into force from January 10. It was passed December 11, 2019 by the Parliament.
PTI
