Tamil Nadu govt invites Muslim leaders for meeting on Citizenship Act

Under attack from various quarters for its support to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the Tamil Nadu Government has convened a meeting of Muslim leaders here on Saturday to allay their concerns over the controversial legislation and issues related to it.

The meeting at the State Secretariat will be chaired by Chief Secretary K Shanmugam, who will listen to views of leaders from the Muslim community and explain the point of the view of the government. The move comes amidst massive protests across Tamil Nadu for the past few months demanding that the state government rejected the CAA by “passing a resolution” in the Assembly.

The AIADMK government has ruled out introducing a resolution in the Assembly against a Central Act, but maintains the legislation does no harm to Indian citizens irrespective of their religion. The letter sent by Shanmugam to Muslim leaders says the meeting has been conveyed to allay the apprehensions on the CAA.

Sources said more than 100 leaders from across the state are expected to take part in the meeting. “The Chief Secretary and other bureaucrats will explain the legislation to the leaders of the community and allay their apprehensions. The meeting has been called since there are attempts to mislead people on the CAA,” a senior TN Government official told DH.

Speaking in the Assembly, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami reiterated that CAA will not affect Muslims in any way and asked political parties to exercise caution while talking about the legislation.

The meeting also comes close on the heels of the Tamil Nadu government putting on hold the National Population Register exercise as it awaits a response from the Centre to its concerns over some questions that are part of the form.

Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar had on Thursday said the Tamil Nadu government was clear it will begin the exercise only after getting clarification from the Centre.

"Till now there is no reply to the state's letter seeking clarification and hence the NPR exercise is put on hold," he said.