4 Goa Cong leaders quit, say CAA needs to be welcomed

Four Goa Congress leaders resigned from the party on Thursday to protest against its stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens.

Panaji Congress block committee president Prasad Amonkar, North Goa minority cell chief Javed Sheikh, block committee secretary Dinesh Kubal and former youth leader Shivraj Tarkar, after quitting the party, said they were in favour of the amended citizenship law.

Talking to reporters here, Amonkar accused the Congress of trying to "mislead the public, specially minorities," on the new citizenship law.

"We oppose the wrong stand taken by the Congress on CAA and NRC. As an opposition, we need to be critical and not just oppose something for the sake of opposing. The Citizenship Amendment Act needs to be welcomed," he said.

"The Congress should stop "misleading people and creating fear in the minds of minorities for political mileage", Amonkar said.

"We all were part of the Congress' protest held last week against the CAA and NRC. But, we realised that the leaders, through their speeches, were trying to create fear in the minds of minorities. This is not right," he said.

Goa is a peace-loving state and the Congress is trying to instigate the minorities, Amonkar alleged.

TheCitizenship Amendment Acthas been enacted through a democratic process and seeks to give citizenship to refugees who have had centuries of cultural affinity with the Indian ethos, he said.

"The CAAaddresses concerns of minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Members of the majority community in those countries, who want to apply for Indian citizenship, will still be able to so as per the existing provisions," Amonkar added.

The Congress has been opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act, while terming it "unconstitutional".