Published 07:31 IST, January 31st 2020
Raman Singh says there would've been no reason to write to PM if Baghel had read CAA
The former CM hit back at the current CM after the latter sent a letter to the PM asking him to repeal the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
Former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Raman Singh took a dig at current CM Bhupesh Baghel for asking the Prime Minister to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Singh said that it would not have been required if CM Baghel had read the Act.
Former CM hits back
Singh said, "There would have been no reason to write the letter if he had read the Act." Baghel wrote a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to revoke the Act since it was discriminatory in nature against certain minorities.
"Chhattisgarh is witnessing massive protests against the act. The state originally has inhabitants belonging to Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, OBCs..A huge chunk of the state's population lives below the poverty line, are landless and illiterate. They will surely face difficulties in fulfilling the formalities required by the Act. The CAA erodes the Constitution's fundamental structure on secularism," Baghel wrote in the letter.
He further wrote wrote, "The Act is appearing to be discriminatory towards illegal immigrants based on their religious beliefs, contradictory to Article-14 of the Indian Constitution. It also has no provision for people of neighboring countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bhutan living in India."
Referring to the multiple protests in the state and the difficulty in producing documents, in the letter, Bhagel added, "Number of demonstrations have taken place in Chhattisgarh in protest of this Act and all those demonstrations were peaceful. People from various sections participated in these peaceful demonstrations. People to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (SC, ST and OBC), reside in the state, and most of these people are poor, illiterate and unequipped, which will make it extremely difficult for them to complete the formalities under this Act."
The state is also expected to pass a resolution to block the CAA and will be the fifth state to do so after Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Punjab.
The CAA was passed in the Parliament in December and ever since there have been countrywide protests against the Act, with many calling it to be discriminatory against the certain religions and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claiming it to be against the poor.
Updated 07:31 IST, January 31st 2020