CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) illegal and unlawful: Prafulla Kumar Mahanta

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Former State Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has termed the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) ultra vires and unconstitutional.

Addressing the media here on Sunday, the former Chief Minister said, “That, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 directly violates the basis structure of the Constitution of India. The Republic of India was constituted by the people of India, pledging solemnly to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular Democratic Republic on the twenty-sixth day of November, 1949 and simultaneously adopting, enacting and giving to themselves the pristine Constitution, commencing with the Preamble that identifies this great Republic India.

“The said controversial Act ab-initio cannot find a place as a constitutionally enacted Act, belting from the Constitution as it violates the basic structure of the Constitution. The excerpt in the Preamble says:

“The solemn resolution of the people of India in adopting and enacting the Constitution of India is an expression that, India is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular Democratic Republic nation. Hence, under any circumstances, no Act can be enacted by the Parliament on religious lines or with an intent to protect certain religious communities and segregating the other. In the Preamble, liberty is given only in terms of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. Religion or religious connotations directly have no place in the Preamble. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 is prima facie unconstitutional as it was enacted with a religious flavour for giving citizenship rights to any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from three countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan and excluding any person professing the Islamic faith, coming from the concerned countries. In addition, there is no scope for any person professing the above mentioned faith from other countries except the three countries mentioned above to attain citizenship of India under the controversial Act and also the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura and the areas covered under the Inner Line in the North-Eastern regions of the country. It is therefore clearly a biased Act abridging Articles 14 of the Constitution of India and therefore should be rendered as an act of ultra vires by the Government of India being unconstitutional.”

On Inner Line Permit (ILP), Mahanta said, “I’m not a supporter of ILP in Assam because it has adversities as well. People coming to Assam to work will find it problematic.”

On the proposed delimitation of constituencies in the State, he said, “The delimitation exercise will bear no meaning if the number of LACs (Legislative Assembly Constituencies) is not increased. The move is to make the BJP win elections.”

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