Assam leader of opposition Debabrata Saikia moves SC challenging Citizenship amendment Act

Congress leader Debabrata Saikia, who is Leader of Opposition in Assam assembly, on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019.

The petition sought quashing of the law and declare it unconstitutional.

Along with Saikia, Abdul Khaleque, Congress MP from Barpeta in Assam and Rupjyoti Kurmi, MLA from Mariani, have approached the top court raising the concerns of people in Assam which has been witnessing violent protests and unrest after the passage of the bill in the two Houses of Parliament.

The plea said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act violates the constitutional principles of "equality, secularism and non-discrimination".

"Differentiating between people along religious lines, especially when it comes to citizenship issues, would be in violation of the Constitution. The amendment is based on the false premise that only minorities face religious persecution in a Muslim-majority country. The amendment makes an easy - but untrue - classification between minority and majority religion," the petition noted.

While Assam Accord states that foreigners who had entered Assam after March 25, 1971, will be expelled and have their name deleted, the plea said the Act contradicts it by granting citizenship to illegal migrants based on religion who came to India before December 31, 2014.