DMK releases video clip issuing clarification on opposition to

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Sunday released a video of its chief M K Stalin explaining in detail as to why it opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019.

The video was in response to AIADMK taking a dig at DMK over the CAA, asking if it had ever spoken a word about getting Indian citizenship for Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka when it shared power at the Centre for 17 years.

In the clip uploaded on social media platforms, Stalin said his party would not have opposed the Act if it provided refugee status to all those who seek asylum in the country.

Terming the Act as "unconstitutional, anti-people, divisive and regressive," Stalin said, DMK would not have opposed it if it provided refugee status to all those who seek asylum in the country.

"However, the law discriminates against Muslims and uses religion as a benchmark to distinguish between people and therefore divide them," he alleged.

He further claimed that the BJP has used CAA to divert attention from issues like economic distress and job losses.

"Economic distress, rising unemployment. As our fellow citizens continue to suffer from such problems, this Act has provided a timely distraction for the BJP government".

Referring to largescale protests in some North Eastern states, where people have come together to oppose CAB, he said, "The DMK also has led similar protests against CAB in Tamil Nadu.."
DMK had been vehemently opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill both inside and outside Parliament, saying it went against the interests of "minorities (apparently Muslim refugees) and Sri Lankan Tamils."