CHANDIGARH: Punjab became the second state after Kerala on Friday to pass a resolution in its Assembly demanding scrapping of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The AAP and Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) supported the resolution, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP opposed it.Following its passage, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said that his government will approach the Supreme Court against CAA. He also said that the census in Punjab would be conducted on the old pattern and the new Central parameters for the purpose of the NPR would not be included.”Earlier, in his remarks on the resolution, Amarinder said CAA was akin to moves towards ethnic cleansing in Hitler’s Germany, adding, “Clearly, no lessons have been learnt from history.”t
In response to a question, the chief minister made it clear that the Census 2021 will be conducted on the
He said “The attempt to change the secular fabric of India through CAA hah shaken the entire country.”
“What is happening in this country? Where will people who you brand as non-citizens, go including the 18 lakh Assamese ‘illegals’? Has anyone thought about it? Has the Home Minister even thought of what is to be done with the ‘illegals’? Where will the poor get their birth certificates from?” he asked.
Urging the Opposition, particularly the Akalis, to read Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf to understand the dangers of CAA, he said he would get the book translated and distributed among them. “The Central government will have to make the amendments to CAA if it has to be implemented in Punjab,” he said.
The resolution against CAA was moved by Punjab Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra.
For and against
The Congress, AAP and the Lok Insaaf Party supported the resolution while the BJP opposed it. The Shiromani Akali Dal, a BJP ally, sought inclusion of Muslims in the lis