Kerala will not accept Citizenship Amendment Bill: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

A day after CAB Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the Bill is an "attack on the secular and democratic character of India". Lok Sabha passed the Bill on December 9 and Rajya Sabha passed it on December 11.

Kochi: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said that Kerala will not accept Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), citing it is unconstitutional.

With this, Pinarayi Vijayan is following in the footsteps of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who also resisted implementing CAB in West Bengal.

"Our democracy is in danger. With CAB, Sangh Parivar has used the majority they enjoy in the Parliament to uproot the bedrock of Indian democracy and Constitution. It's a rejection of secularism. BJP has made it clear that their main political plank is communalism. We must resist," tweeted Vijayan. He further said CAB is a move to sabotage equality and secularism.

A day after CAB Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, Vijayan has said that the Bill is an "attack on the secular and democratic character of India. Lok Sabha passed the CAB on December 9 and the Rajya Sabha passed it on December 11.

Reacting on the same, Vijayan had earlier said in a statement: "The Constitution of India guarantees the right to citizenship for all Indians; irrespective of their religion, caste, language, culture, gender or profession. This very right is being made void by the Citizenship Amendment Bill. A move to decide citizenship on the basis of religion amounts to a rejection of the Constitution. This is an exercise to divide people on communal lines. The Bill, which aims to enervate our secular unity, was passed by the Lok Sabha with unusual haste and tenacity."

Muslims who have immigrated from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan are being excluded, he added. 

(With ANI inputs)