Puducherry BJP MLAs oppose any Assembly resolution against CAA

Chief Minister V Narayanasamy has recently said the government would move a resolution opposing the CAA in the assembly on February 12 'come what may'

The BJP in Puducherry on Thursday opposed the Congress government's move to table an anti-CAA resolution in the assembly in the coming sitting, claiming such a course would be violative of Constitution.

A delegation of BJP MLAs, led by its leader V Saminathan, submitted a petition in the office of assembly Speaker V P Sivakolundhu urging him not to permit the government to table any motion to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the House scheduled to meet on February 12.

The petition was signed by all the three legislators - Saminathan, S.Selvaganapathy and K G Shankar. Saminathan later told reporters that both the Houses of Parliament had already passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill which had since become an act with the President's assent. Puducherry functioned under the direct administrative control of the Union Home Ministry and therefore there could be no tabling of any motion against CAA in the assembly and any debate thereto will be violative of the Constitution, he said.

Besides, the Union Territory Act 1963 also laid down that the territorial assembly can debate only matters that fell in the domain of the State or concurrent lists of the Seventh schedule of the Constitution.

As citizenship fell under the purview of the Central list, the territorial assembly has no power to discuss it,he said adding any motion to opposethe CAA would be an infringement on the Constitution under which all the MLAs had taken the oath and pledged to uphold it.