Citizenship Bill: Left parties to organise nationwide protest on Dec 19

The Left parties will organise a nationwide joint protest on December 19 against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, according to a statement issued by these parties on Thursday.

The Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)-Liberation, All India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party, in a joint statement, alleged that the bill was completely violative of the Constitution and aimed at destroying the secular democratic foundations of India.

The contentious bill, which seeks to give citizenship to non-Muslims facing discrimination in neighbouring countries, was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday and the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

"The Left parties strongly oppose this bill that links citizenship with the religious affiliation of an individual, the very antithesis of secularism. 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 our country," the statement read.

The left parties also said that the passage of the 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 an 'Hindutva Rashtra', the RSS political project."

December 19 has been chosen as the day of the protest as on this day in 1927, Ram Prasad Bismil, who rendered the stirring patriotic call, 'Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna', rousing Indian people in the freedom struggle, was hanged in Gorakhpur jail.

Ashfaqulla, a co-accused, was hanged at the Faizabad jail and another co-accused Roshan Singh was hanged at the Naini jail.

"This unity, overriding religious affiliations won India its freedom from the British. This, today, is being ruptured by the RSS-BJP," the statement by the Left parties said.