Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday condemned the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens, terming it a discriminatory move that would hurt the poor and vulnerable. “Citizenship Amendment Act is discriminatory, and proposed nationwide NRC will particularly hurt poor, vulnerable,” Gandhi said at a public address on Friday evening.
Since the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed in the Parliament on December 11, protestors have turned out in large numbers to express dissent against the act. The protests have resulted in violent clashes with the police in a number of places. On Friday, sporadic violence was reported from parts of Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka-Kerala border areas. As a precuationary measure, the authorities have curbed mobile internet and SMS services in various regions, including in parts of UP, Karnataka and the national capital.
Sonia Gandhi also expressed solidarity with the protesting students. The Congress chief hit out at BJP for using ‘ brute force’ to suppress dissent. “In a democracy people have the right to raise their voice against wrong decisions and policies of the govt and register their concerns. BJP govt has shown utter disregard for people’s voices and chosen to use brute force to suppress dissent,” Gandhi said.
The raging protests also saw some allies of BJP voicing their concerns. Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar asserted the National Register for Citizens will not be implemented in his state, while another BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party’s president Chirag Paswan said the protests show the central government has “failed” to dispel confusion among a significant section of society.
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Source: Financial Express
