Both the Congress-led Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) are in tight competition in raising their voices against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), just like they did when the Bill was passed by the Parliament on December 11, 2019. Now, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan repeats what he had been stating during 2019: He says the CAA will not be implemented in Kerala.
Kerala Assembly was the first one to pass a resolution against CAA. The Government of Kerala had also moved the Supreme Court against it and spearheaded mass protests.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on March 11 that LDF would stick to its stand against CAA. He said, CAA is an attempt of the BJP Government to create communal polarisation in the country and set fire to communal sentiments just ahead of Lok Sabha elections. He alleges, CAA violates the ‘basic principles of the Constitution’.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has moved the Supreme Court to stay the implementation of CAA rules. It is close on the heels of the Union Government’s implementation of CAA rules. IUML demanded to stay the statute and regulations alleging that the CAA is anti-Muslim community. Petition says that the CAA is “unconstitutional and discriminatory”.
Pinarayi Vijayan also recollected that the Kerala Assembly was the first to pass a resolution against the CAA. Kerala had also moved the Supreme Court against CAA.
Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front is all set to unleash protests against CAA in the State. V D Satheesan, LoP in Kerala Assembly, said that UDF would carry out protests in the State against CAA.
In the meantime, Islamists like the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the outlawed Popular Front of India (PFI), and PDP staged a protest march before Raj Bhavan on March 11 night. When the attempt to disperse the mob failed, police charged water cannon against them.
Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Youth Congress workers staged protest marches in different parts of the State on March 12.
Both LDF and UDF appear to have resolved to exploit CAA as an election plank against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA). They consider it a ‘golden tool’ to counter the BJP’s ambition to open the ‘Lok Sabha account’ in Kerala. This is very significant as the people of Kerala believe that this time, the BJP will make it in the history of election politics in Kerala.
At the end of the day, the ‘protest drama’ is nothing but appeasement-cum-vote bank politics—that is, the race for the Muslim vote bank, a crucial ingredient in Kerala vote arithmetics.
BJP has realised the sinister move of LDF and UDF and started campaigning in favour of CAA. The party is fully confident of a powerful and massive mandate this time. Party leaders trolled the CM’s statement that his Government would not implement CAA in Kerala. BJP said the CM is right because he is not the authority to do it, as CAA comes under the Union list of the Constitution, and the Union Government alone is the authority to handle it.
