CAA tramples rights of Muslims: MK Stalin

Terming the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as “hasty and autocratic”, DMK President M K Stalin on Tuesday alleged that the only aim of the legislation was to “crush and trample” the rights of Muslims and persecuting them on the basis of religion.

Stalin also asked the Union Government to reconsider the CAA by holding consultations with Chief Ministers who have announced that they will not implement the act in their states and political parties who have knocked at the doors of the Supreme Court seeking to strike down the legislation.

The DMK chief also launched a blistering attack on the AIADMK and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami accusing them of being responsible for the passage of the legislation in Rajya Sabha.

“The BJP came to power with a slew of promises. Narendra Modi promised 2 crore jobs a year, doubling farmers' income and boosting the economy. Did he do any of these? Without bothering about the pressing issues, the only thing that his government has done is to spoil the nation,” Stalin said, addressing a massive public rally against CAA in Kanchipuram, 75 kms from here.

DMK MPs, MLAs, and senior leaders led protests in 65 locations across Tamil Nadu demanding repeal of the CAA. In Chennai, party MPs Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi Maran led the protests, while senior leaders addressed protest meetings elsewhere. Stalin also alleged that the AIADMK “betrayed” the Sri Lankan Tamils by not ensuring that they are also included in the list of those who will be awarded citizenship under CAA.

Accusing BJP of “poisoning the pluralistic nature of the Indian society through authoritarian rule”, Stalin said the party should not dismantle the basic tenets of democracy and constitution just because it had enough numbers in Parliament.

“Muslims are singled out. They (BJP) want to crush Muslims, trample their rights and torture them. This seems to be the motive of the BJP. India is a country that consists of people belonging to different faiths and languages. We are all living together, and the BJP wants to poison that unity among various communities,” Stalin alleged.

Stalin also announced that a meeting of the partners of the DMK-led alliance will take place in Chennai on Wednesday to decide on the c