Thiruvananthapuram : Reacting to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's statement that Congress is "backing out" of a joint protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday termed the latter's statement as "quite ironic."
"Quite ironic. I wonder whether he doesn't even have a staff member who can Google and find out the truth. The fact is that when the CAA bill was brought into parliament, I opposed its introduction and I spoke in the debate denouncing the bill, explaining why it's unconstitutional and a violation of Article 14. The Constitution makes that explicitly clear that your caste, religion, language, place of birth, whatever is irrelevant to your citizenship, you're on the same equal plane as every other citizen," Tharoor told reporters.
The Congress leader said that the communist party's contribution 'was 'minimal' in the freedom struggle. "I know very well how strongly and how consistently Congress has opposed this issue. The communist party contributed minimally in the freedom struggle, and today they're trying to reap its benefits and score political points in the most disgracefully dishonest way," he added.
Earlier on Monday, the Kerala Chief Minister claimed that 'Bharat mata ki Jai' and 'Jai Hind' were first coined by two Muslims, challenging the BJP to renounce the slogans. "Now, in some programs we hear some Sangh Parivar leaders asking people to chant 'Bharat mata ki Jai'. Who coined the slogan Bharat mata ki jai? Was it some Sangh Parivar leader? I don't know if the Sangh Parivar knows this. His name is Azimullah Khan. I don't know if they know that he is not a Sangh Parivar leader," the Kerala CM said.
He said, "He was the Prime Minister to the Maratha Peshwa Nana Saheb in the 19th century. We should know that he coined the term Bharat Mata ki Jai. I don't know if Sangh Parivar will decide not to chant the slogan since it was framed by a Muslim?" The remarks were made during a rally against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in Malappuram on Monday.
Lashing out at those leaders advocating for the extradition of the Muslims from India to Pakistan, CM Vijayan said, "Similarly, a former diplomat, Abid Hasan, coined the term 'Jai Hind'. So Jai Hind is also a contribution by a Muslim. Therefore, I want to say that the Sangh Parivar, who says Muslims should leave India, and be sent to Pakistan, should understand this history."
Earlier in the month, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre on the applications seeking a stay on the Citizen Amendment Rules 2024, brought to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019.
On March 11, the Central Government notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, which effectively brought into force the controversial CAA of 2019.
The 2019 Act amended the Citizenship Act, 1955, which makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship if they (a) belong to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities, and (b) are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan. It only applies to migrants who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. As per the amendment, certain areas in the Northeast are exempted from the provision.