Puducherry adopts resolution against CAA, NPR, NRC
The Congress-ruled Puducherry on Wednesday adopted an Assembly resolution against the controversial amended Citizenship Act, becoming the first union territory in the country to say no to the law.
Earlier, states including Kerala and West Bengal, whose Chief Ministers Pinarayi Vijayan and Mamata Banerjee, respectively, are at the forefront of anti-CAA movements, had adopted Assembly resolutions against the Act.
Amidst an opposition boycott, the one-day special session of the territorial Assembly
adopted the resolution tabled by Chief Minister V Narayanasamy.
It also registered strong protest against the National Register of Citizens and National Population Register.
Members of the opposition AINRC and AIADMK boycotted the session while the three nominated BJP legislators staged a walk out after registering their objection to the tabling of the resolution.
As soon as Narayansamy started reading out the contents of the resolution, BJP members V Saminathan, K G Shankar and S Selvaganapthy were up on their feet and objected to the moving of the resolution.
They were heard saying the resolution was a “murder of democracy” and “violation of constitutional provisions.”
They later trooped out of the House and did not return for the rest of the session.
The resolution urged the Centre to withdraw the CAA as it was “totally opposed to the principles of secularism.”
It was passed after the Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues and legislators belonging to the Congress and its ally the DMK spoke on the resolution.
Speaker V P Sivakolundhu said the resolution was “adopted unanimously.”
BANKURA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that nationalised banks and post offices were being “used” by the Centre in her state to collect data in order to “manipulate” the CAA-NRC-NPR. Banerjee made the accusation while addressing an administrative meeting here, and said such survey by central government undertakings must “stop immediately”, without elaborating where and when such an exercise happened, officials said.