Congress core group meeting to begin shortly at Sonia's residence over CAA

Congress core group meeting will be conducted today at party interim president Sonia Gandhi's residence over unrest across the country on the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.

The meeting will be conducted at 4.30 pm.

The meeting comes a day after Gandhi accused BJP-led government of "brute repression" against students, youth and citizens protesting against the Citizenship law and said the legislation was "discriminatory" and the proposed nationwide NRC will particularly hurt the poor and vulnerable."The Citizenship Amendment Act is discriminatory and the proposed nationwide NRC will particularly hurt the poor and vulnerable. Like at the time of 'notebandi' (demonetisation), they will have to stand in line to prove their and their ancestors' citizenship," she said.Gandhi said the people's apprehensions were real and legitimate and the struggle against the legislation was "just."The Congress chief accused the BJP-led government of pursuing "divisive, anti-people" policies.

A meeting of Congress core group was held on December 19 over the same issue.

Protests erupted across the country over the amended Citizenship Act, which seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and came to India on or before December 31, 2014.