First time religious test introduced into definition of Indian citizenship: Tharoor on CAA

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said that passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act is the first time a religious test has been introduced into the definition of Indian citizenship.

The problem with the Citizenship Amendment Act is that it is wrong in principle. This is the first time that a religious test has been introduced into the definition of Indian citizenship. Never before, in our country has it mattered what your religion was to qualify to be an Indian citizen," Tharoor said addressing a group of students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

As many as 36 students were injured after a masked mob had entered the varsity on the night of January 5 and assaulted the students and professors with sticks and rods.

"What happened on January 5 was inexcusable. As a parent I feel the anguish that your parents must have suffered seeing the way in which all of you students were assaulted with impunity by masked thugs and goons brought here in some cases from other campuses," Tharoor said.

"What they did, with the police waiting outside the gates, with a reticence that they could not show in Jamia on December 15. The police stood by while others came and did the dirty work of assaulting you," he added.

He said that this is not what our country is about and this has never been allowed to happen before.

"The worst things are, that it reminded students of history like myself of events in Nazi Germany in the 1930s when sadly the same tactic was employed as young troopers of the ruling party marched into several campuses and assaulted several students," Tharoor said.

Earlier in the day, the Congress leader from Thiruvananthapuram had visited Jamia Millia Islamia University and nearby Shaheen Bagh area to express solidarity with protestors.

The MP later tweeted about his visits to the two universities: "Glimpses of today's crowds at the three #CAA_NRC_Protests I addressed. Let there be no doubt, this is a people's upsurge, going well beyond any political party. We should applaud the courage & determination of ordinary people without seeking to appropriate their movement.