CAA: After Kerala, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh to move SC, says, 'need to make amendments'

Shortly after the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution by voice to vote against the contentious amended Citizenship Act (CAA), Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said on Friday that his government is likely to approach the Supreme Court over the issue. Punjab will become the second state, after Kerala to move the top court over the controversial legislation that has sparked nationwide protests. 

Captain Amarinder Singh said that the PM Modi-led government will have to make the necessary amendments to the CAA, if it has to be implemented in Punjab and other states opposing the Act. Outside the state Assembly he said, "Like Kerala, our government will also approach the Supreme Court on the issue," Following the Kerala government's lead, Punjab state Assembly on Friday has passed a resolution against CAA. The resolution was moved by State Minister Brahm Mohindra in Congress-led Assembly earlier in the day. Punjab had called a two-day special Assembly session on Thursday and Friday.

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"The CAA 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," Mohindra said while reading out the resolution. Opposition MLAs belonging to BJP-ally Akali Dal and Aam Aadmi Party staged a walkout.  On Thursday too they had walked out protesting 'non-fulfillment' of government's promises.

Kerala passes anti-CAA resolution

On January 4, the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution for not implementing the Act in the state and has also written to the central government regarding the same. Moreover, Vijayan has written to eleven state governments who are against CAA to follow the same pathway against the Act, but the governor Arif Mohammad Khan has called the resolution 'unconstitutional'. The LDF which rules the state has taken a firm stance against CAA and NRC, staging several protests across the state.

Earlier on January 13, the Kerala government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court, saying that the CAA was contradictory to the constitutional ethos. The Kerala government's petition argues that CAA is discriminatory because it covers only a class of minorities from a class of countries sharing borders with India and to which and from there have been trans-border migration. It further says that CAA covers certain religious minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and overlooks other reportedly persecuted religious minorities and sects such as Ahmaddiyas, Shias, and Hazaras.

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(With PTI inputs)