Left organisations to hold nationwide protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act on Dec 19

The Left organisations will hold a nationwide protest against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on December 19.

According to a press release, the parties consisting of the Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, All India Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party, have decided to hold an All-India protest against the act.

"The Left parties consider this Bill to completely violative of the Indian Constitution and aimed at destroying the secular democratic foundations of the Indian Republic," said the organisations in a press statement.

They further stated that this Bill aims to further sharpen the communal divide and social polarization in the country, which is dangerously detrimental to the unity and integrity of the country.

"The passage of this Bill, along with the proclamations by this Modi-Shah BJP government to extend the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to the entire country, is the twin combination to change the character of the Indian Republic - from a secular democratic one into a "Hindutva Rashtra", the RSS political project," they said.

According to the organisations, the reason for organising a nationwide protest on December 19 was because on that day, Ram Prasad Bismil, who rendered the patriotic call 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna' during the freedom struggle, was hanged along with two co-accused.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which was passed by the Parliament earlier this week has now become the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 following assent from President Ram Nath Kovind.

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 facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.