NEW DELHI: Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and appealed to withdraw Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the next Parliament session.
A large number of Pakistani Hindus who had come to India from Pakistan in order to escape religious persecution had to return to Pakistan because they were unable to secure Indian citizenship, Chowdhury said in his letter.
"We have always raised our voice for the marginalized and neglected lot irrespective of religion, caste, creed or nationality," he wrote to Shah.
This come after Shah, during his West Bengal visit earlier this month, that the Central government will implement it once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Chowdhury further said, "It is more than two years now that you have passed the ill-thought-out legislation called CAA. But still, you are not able to implement it because of its inherent and manifest unconstitutionality."
"That is why Pakistani Hindu returnees are going back to Pakistan out of sheer frustration and hopelessness. This draconian legislation cannot be implemented because it is legislation targeting a particular community. It is against the basic tenets and fundamentals of our constitutional ethos. The underlying value of our constitution is "to live and let live". I am sure this targeted legislation against a particular community will not stand judicial scrutiny."
"Perhaps you know it well and that's why despite the passage of the act of more than two years, you have not been able to frame even the rudimentary rules of CAA," he said.
"In view of the above, I appeal to you to withdraw the CAA legislation in the impending monsoon session of Parliament like the three controversial farm laws," the letter read.
The CAA allows persecuted minorities belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to avail Indian citizenship.