DMK holds protests; party to convene a meeting of its allies today to discuss future course of action

Leading a massive agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Kancheepuram on Tuesday, DMK president M.K. Stalin demanded an explanation from the Centre for excluding Muslims and Sri Lankan Tamils from the legislation.

The DMK, which organised similar agitations across Tamil Nadu, will convene a meeting of its allies on Wednesday to discuss the next course of action.

Mr. Stalin said the party would be inclined to support the CAA if the Centre expanded its ambit to include Muslims and Sri Lankan Tamils. “The Indian Constitution is secular in nature and the government cannot enact any law that will discriminate against people on the basis of religion. By excluding Sri Lankan Tamils, the BJP has proved that it is not only against Muslims but also against Sri Lankan Tamils,” he alleged.

“If Hindus from neighbouring countries are eligible for citizenship, why shouldn’t the provision be extended to Sri Lankan Tamils? Does the government not consider Sri Lankan Tamils as Hindus?” he asked.

Mr. Stalin termed ‘false’ Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that 4.61 lakh Sri Lankan Tamils had been granted Indian citizenship earlier, and another 75,000 subsequently.

“Only the Indian-origin Tamils who went to work in Sri Lanka were given citizenship. It was granted by former Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi after they [Tamils] were denied citizenship by the Sri Lankan government. Mr. Shah cannot claim any credit for the gesture,” he said. Mr. Stalin alleged that the agenda of the BJP government at the Centre was to subject Muslims to repression. The government, he said, was not interested in fulfilling its electoral promises, including boosting the revenue of farmers and creating two crore jobs.

“India is a country of many faiths and languages. They [people of all faiths] have been living in amity for the last 100 years. The BJP is poisoning the cordial atmosphere,” he alleged.

The DMK leader also assailed the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu, accusing it of helping the BJP pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha, where the national party lacked a majority.