THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Reaching out to his non-BJP counterparts from across the country, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday wrote to 11 chief ministers, including NDA partner Nitish Kumar of Bihar, seeking to follow Kerala's footsteps in their protest against CAA. Referring to the assembly resolution, Pinarayi urged them to unite in their protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Referring to the resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly requesting the Centre to repeal CAA, Pinarayi asked his counterparts from other states to "consider similar steps so that it will be an eye opener to the proponents of the CAA and NRD."
The letter has been sent to 11 chief ministers including Uddhav Thackeray of Maharashtra, Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, Nitish Kumar of Bihar, Hemant Soren of Jharkhand, Jaganmohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh, V Narayana Swamy of Puducherry, Kamal Nath of Madhya Pradesh, Captain Amarinder Singhof Punjab, Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan and Naveen Patnaik of Odisha.
Pointing at the apprehensions among large sections of society over CAA and NRC, Pinarayi said Kerala has decided to address the apprehensions about NRC, and that preparation of NPR will lead to NRC, and has stayed all activities relating to NPR in the state.
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"The need of the hour is unity among all Indians who wish to protect and preserve our cherished values of democracy and secularism. People from various cross-sections of the society, irrespective of any difference they might have, need to stand united in preserving the basic tenets of our polity which form the cornerstone of our democracy. We are sure that our unity in diversity, which has stood the test of times will ultimately emerge stronger," said Pinarayi in his letter. The Kerala Assembly on December 31 brought out a resolution expressing concern regarding the impact of CAA on nation's secular credentials.
Pinarayi, the lone CPM chief minister in the country, reaching out to his non-BJP counterparts has raised eyebrows in political circles. Earlier West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had written to other chief ministers underscoring the need for protest against the issue.