22 BJP party leaders join Naga People’s Front (NPF); cite CAA as reason for leaving party

GUWAHATI: 22 BJP party leaders from Nagaland have joined Naga People’s Front (NPF) party on Wednesday. The main reason for leaving BJP happens to be Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), according to reports.

NPF’s party president Shurhozelie Liezietsu has welcomed the move and said that in the coming days more people from BJP will join NPF.

Former BJP leader, Mukibur Rahman had said that the members were upset with CAA as they did not see Inner Line Permit (ILP) as a protection against CAA. “The ILP is not going to stop them from entering to our state,” he said.

In early January this year, Rajya Sabha MP KG Kenye was suspended from Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) for voting in favour of Citizenship Amendment Bill which was passed in Rajya Sabha. Kenye who had extended his support to the Bill had said that the issue was being discussed in the House completely out of context. KG Kenye had resigned from the post of secretary-general of NPF, but he had not resigned from the party.

The bill was passed with 125 votes in favour of the Bill and 105 votes against it. Protests broke out throughout Guwahati and various northeastern states to oppose CAB. People took to the streets to protest the implementation of the Bill within the region.

CAA aims to protect religiously persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan by giving them Indian Citizenship. The cut-off date for those to be given citizenship in India has been fixed at, on or before 31st December 2014.

Protests against CAA took place throughout the country. In many states clashes between police and protestors had left many dead and several injured. Several arrests were also made post agitations.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced that the BJP won’t go back an inch to revoke the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) even if all the opposition parties unite. Rather, the party will work hard and reach out to the youth and minorities to make them understand that the CAA has not been introduced to snatch citizenship but to give citizenship to the religiously persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

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