Begin NPR update without seeking new information, says State govt.

The Cabinet of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday passed a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, calling upon the Centre to abrogate it as it purportedly violates the basic tenets of the Constitution and the fundamental Right to Equality.

“In order to stay away from division based on religion and ensure equality before the law for all religions, the Madhya Pradesh government requests the Government of India to abrogate the law,” reads a note, passed at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Kamal Nath.

Speaking to reporters later, Law Minister P.C. Sharma said, “The resolution will be forwarded to the Centre.” So far, Kerala, Rajasthan, Punjab and West Bengal have passed such resolutions in their Assemblies. It’s unclear whether Madhya Pradesh will follow suit.

Furthermore, the State government requested the Centre to begin the update of the National Population Register only after withdrawing the plan seeking new information in order to do away with apprehensions among people.

Stating that secularism formed the basic idea of the Constitution, the note said, “Article 14 guarantees equality and equal treatment before the law to everyone...the CAA has provisions making distinctions among illegal migrants based on religion.”

After the adoption of the Constitution in 1950, it said, this was the first instance when “a law prescribing distinction based on religion was enacted. This will endanger the country’s secular and tolerant being”.

It was beyond people’s understanding why such provisions were enacted in the law, which created apprehensions in everyone’s minds, it said. “As a result, there have been vast protests against it across the country, that are continuing. Even in Madhya Pradesh, there have been continuous protests against the law that have been peaceful and attended by all sections of society,” it added.

Vote bank politics: BJP

Meanwhile, BJP State president and MP Rakesh Singh said, “The State government, by opposing a law passed according to Constitutional principles in the Parliament, was indulging in vote bank politics. Citizenship is a subject of the Centre that has nothing to do with any State government.”