CAA will change demography of Assam: Lawyer Vikas Singh

As the Supreme Court began hearing petitions related to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), senior advocate Vikas Singh said the new law will change the demography of Assam as it will grant citizenship to "Hindu infiltrators".

Appearing for Assam Advocate Association, who has challenged CAA, Vikas Singh said he is hoping that the Apex Court would stay the Act, which triggered protests in several parts of the country including northeastern states.

"Nobody can stop the state from passing any resolution and even some states have said they are not going to implement CAA. Then the only option left with the Centre will be to dismiss the state government saying that it is breaking down the constitutional machinery," he told ANI.

"But how many state governments they will dismiss as Opposition is in power in many states comparatively to BJP-ruled states. Such a situation will compel the Central government to rethink the issue," Singh said.

The advocate said that there was a "hidden agenda" behind the new Act.

Patal Kanya Jamatia of People's Front Of Tripura President, who filed the petition against the Citizenship law said: "We filed the case in December last year. Today is the first hearing. We have a problem, illegal Bangladeshi migrants, in Tripura. We are strongly against CAA as it will give citizenship legally to illegal Bangladeshi migrants. It threatens national security.