PM is spreading false propaganda, claims Sitaram Yechury

Guwahati: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury here on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was spreading false propaganda on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act threatening the secular fabric of nation.

Mr Yechury who was here to participate in a protest rally against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act said that the act violates the Constitution. “We will fight to safeguard the Constitution. The citizenship is not based on any religion. Why this government has included non-Muslims of only three countries?,” said Mr Yechury while arguing that by linking citizenship to religion through C(A)A, the Modi government is looking for communal polarisation of nation.

Asserting that BJP government was planning to bring in National Population Register (NPR) followed by National Register of Citizens (NRC), Mr Yechury accused that all —-C(A)A, NPR and NRC are linked to each other. He said that non-Muslims left out of NRC would be given citizenship by the C(A)A and Muslims will be targeted. Claiming that C(A)A was a communal act, Mr Yechury said that chief ministers of 13 states have made it clear that they are not going to implement the act while asking chief ministers of other states to oppose the act.

Referring the statement of Union home minister Amit Shah that the National Register of Citizens, recently implemented in Assam, will be conducted again, and this time for the entire country, Mr Yechury said that government’s proposals on NRC will cost the country dearly, socially and economically.

“These proposals are at variance with the founding spirit of the country and violate the principles of equality, secularism of the Constitution,” said Mr Yechury while clarifying that they supported NRC in Assam because it was the part of Assam Accord.He also added that situation of Assam can’t be equated with rest of country.

Meanwhile, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Friday launched a mass signature campaign against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The “signature campaign” that has been launched by the Congress party will carry 20 lakh signatures as a memorandum to the President of India Ramnath Kovind pleading to roll back the contentious Act.

The party started the campaign with the signature from former chief ministers Tarun Gogoi and Bhumidhar Barman, followed by the rest of the APCC members and other people present at the flagging off ceremony.

On the other hand the All Assam Students Union with 30 other organisations continued their protest against the C(A)A by organising public rally at Tinsukia in Upper Assam on Friday.