Oppn slams govt on CAA, economy; 6 parties absent

UPPING THE ANTE

NEW DELHI: A high-profile meeting of opposition parties lost much of its sheen on Monday as six major rivals of the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led National Democratic Alliance government were not present during a discussion on issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the state of the economy.

Later, 20 parties, led by the Congress, demanded the withdrawal of the CAA, and launched an attack against the central government over slowdown in the economy. They also called on chief ministers who have announced that they will not implement a proposed allindia NRC to suspend the updat

The government is not addressing the issues of farmers’ suicides, unemployment and layoffs, Oppn parties alleged “The economic crisis has pushed the economy to the verge of a recession with a record fall in the country’s GDP...” “The NPR is the basis for the NRC. We demand the withdrawal of the CAA and the immediate stoppage of the nationwide NRC/NPR. All the chief ministers, who have announced that they will not implement the NRC in their state, must consider suspending the NPR enumeration as this is a prelude to NRC.” — RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY

20 OPPOSITION PARTIES

ing process of the National Population Register (NPR).

“The CAA, NPR and NRC is a package that is unconstitutional, which specifically targets the poor, the downtrodden,

the SC/STS [Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes] and the linguistic & religious minorities,” the parties said in a resolution after the meeting in the Parliament complex.