THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If the Centre does not intend to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC), it should be announced in the Parliament and not in public meetings, said AICC general secretary KC Venugopal at the KPCC headquarters here on Friday.
If the Centre is reluctant to declare it in the Parliament, it should convene a meeting of all the chief ministers and appraise them of its intention on the issue, he said.
“Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that when the NRC was brought up for discussion in the Parliament, no one raised any objection is a blatant lie. Senior Congress leaders Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Ghulam Nabi Azad had strongly opposed it, the record of which can be found in the Parliament documents. Through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), an elected government is indulging in the act of dividing a democratic and secular country on the basis of religion,” he said.
As part of upping the ante against the Centre’s policies, the Congress will hold flag marches across the country on Saturday, which is also the anniversary of Congress in India. Venugopal also declared that Congress-led states will not cooperate with NCR procedures till the Centre alleviates their fears on the subject.
He also criticised the political stance taken by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawat on CAA. Drawing a comparison to the situation in the Pakistan army, he said the army chief should withdraw his statement on the issue, as the previous army chief had set a tradition of not interfering in the political matters of the country.
“The Centre has been using enforcement agencies like CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Election Commission and a section of the judiciary as tools to promote their ideas and views,” he said.
‘Modi’s remarks unbecoming of a PM’
Narendra Modi’s comment that those who oppose CAA can be identified by their clothes was not fitting the stature of a prime minister, Venugopal said.
“The Congress will not backtrack from its vow of fighting against the Centre’s divisive strategy,” he said