The Congress on Tuesday attacked the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala, accusing it of using the CAA for electoral gains, and saying the Left party is trying to alienate Muslim voters from the Congress on the "lie" that the grand old party did not oppose the controversial law Separately, Congress leaders asserted that if the INDIA front, of which the Left parties are a part, comes to power, the legislation will be "thrown in the dustbin".
Congress Working Committee member and MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said that the Left front in Kerala is spreading "lies" and "distorting" the facts about the grand old party's role in opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), right from its introduction as a bill in Parliament.
Tharoor said that the Communist party, "which contributed minimally" to the freedom struggle during its crucial years, is today "trying to reap its benefits for political points in the most disgracefully dishonest way".
Similarly, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of misusing the CAA for political gains.
Satheesan said that Wayanad Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and various other UDF MPs have spoken against the CAA, details of which have been forwarded to Vijayan.
Despite that, the CM is lying and misusing the citizenship law to attract votes from the minorities, especially Muslims, the opposition leader alleged.
Both Tharoor and Satheesan were responding to Vijayan's recent and continuous attacks on the Congress, in which he claims the grand old party has been silent on the issue of the CAA since its introduction in the House to the notification of its rules.
Meanwhile, Congress stalwart and former Union Minister A K Antony said that if the INDIA bloc, which also includes the CPI(M), comes to power, then the CAA will be "thrown in the dustbin".
Antony said that he firmly believes that even the Supreme Court would agree that the legislation questions the basic structure of the Constitution.
He said that the Congress would go the distance to oppose citizenship based on religion.
The CAA was passed in December 2019 and subsequently got the President's assent, but there were protests in several parts of the country against it, with many opposition parties speaking out against the law, calling it "discriminatory".
For four years since then, the CAA could not be implemented because its rules had not been notified. On March 11, this year, just ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls schedule, the union government notified the CAA rules -- which made it a poll issue.
The Act grants citizenship to undocumented migrants of all religions -- except Muslims -- from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
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