West Bengal Assembly passes resolution against CAA

Kolkata: The West Bengal Assembly on Monday passed a resolution demanding to scrap of contentious new citizenship law.

The resolution, moved by State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee in a special session, was backed by members of the Congress and Left Front while the BJP opposed it.

The Left and the Congress members, however, expressed their dismay at the state government not allowing them to move a resolution against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act earlier this month and wanted to move some amendments.

However, they did not press ahead with their amendments following appeals from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chatterjee.

Banerjee, in her speech, described the resolution as one upholding humanity, which the law flouts.

“This is no Hindu-Muslim issue. It is a matter of humanity. This law is a shame for humanity,” she said.

Banerjee said the CAA, National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) are inter-connected.

“These are the same thing. So this is not the time for us to quarrel. We all have to fight against dictatorship,” she said, in an appeal to the Congress-LF members.

The resolution was passed under rule 169 of the rules of business of the House.

It was adopted without voting, making West Bengal the fourth state in the country to pass such a resolution in its legislature.

The CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala and Congress-ruled Punjab and Rajasthan have already passed similar resolutions in the respective Assemblies demanding to scrap of the CAA.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has also announced that the state Assembly will pass a resolution against the Act.

Leader of the Opposition Abdul Mannan, of the Congress, and the Left Front legislature party leader Sujon Chakraborty, of the CPI-M, were present in the House.

BJP legislator Swadhin Sarkar opposed the resolution.

On January 20, Chief Minister Banerjee announced that a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act will be passed in the state Assembly. (IANS)

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