Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi urges BJP allies in North East to ditch CAB

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday urged BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) to not side with the Citizen (Amendment) Bill for 'political compulsions'. "I appeal to all North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) parties to stand with your people of the northeast. Do not side with BJP for political compulsions," Gogoi said after attending Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group Meeting on the contentious Bill. The bill is scheduled to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

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Congress ready to oppose CAB 'tooth and nail'

The opposition led by Congress is gearing up to vehemently oppose the Bill in Parliament as it allegedly discriminates against immigrants on the basis of their religion. They brand the CAB as counterproductive to the interest of north-eastern states. The Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group chaired by Sonia Gandhi held a meeting in Delhi on Sunday to deliberate upon the strategy to oppose the Bill 'tooth and nail' and also how to garner supported from other opposition parties over the issue.

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The meeting was attended by senior Congress leaders in the Parliament including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, K Suresh, Gaurav Gogoi, Jairam Ramesh, AK Antony, Ahmed Patel among others. "We will oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill tooth and nail because it is in violation of our Constitution, secular ethos, tradition, culture and civilization," said Chowdhury.

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All about numbers in Parliament

The National Democratic Alliance government has enough numbers to pass the bill in the lower house. It would nonetheless be a challenge to sail it through in the upper house where the Opposition has an advantage in terms of numbers. If passed by Parliament, it will amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 introducing exceptional provisions for acquiring citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

(With ANI inputs)

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