Kerala Oppn leader to join SC case against Citizenship Amendment Act

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala on Friday said he has decided to join the case against Citizenship Amendment Act which was filed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in the Supreme Court.

"I have decided to join the case in the Supreme Court because this (Citizenship Amendment Act) is a violation of the Constitution. People of Kerala are against it," Chennithala told ANI.

On Thursday, the IUML filed a petition in the top court on the question of the legality of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, (CAB) which has been passed by both houses of Parliament and became an Act after President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent.

IUML, in its petition, requested the apex court to stay the Bill and its operation.

The Muslim League has also pleaded to declare it "illegal and void" for violating Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution.

The Bill, which was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and Lok Sabha on Monday, faced its first legal challenge with the filing of the petition.

The passage of CAB has triggered widespread protests in the North-East, especially in Assam, where curfew has been imposed in some areas.

According to the Act, members of the Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh till December 31, 2014, and were facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants and granted Indian citizenship.