Kochi:
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday slammed the Centre over the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, alleging that the BJP-led government brought in the legislation to “sharpen communal polarisation” and “convert” India into a “Hindutva Rashtra.”
He saidthe citizenship of a person cannot be determined by religious affiliation.
“By doing this, they want to sharpen communal polarisation. They want to divide the people of India and convert our secular democratic republic into a Hindutva Rashtra,” Yechury told reporters here.
The Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill a little past midnight on Monday after a heated debate that lasted over seven hours.
The bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution in those countries.
Later, addressing a CPI(M) protest meeting against the Centre’s decision to disinvest in public sector oil major BPCL, Yechury said excluding Muslim refugees from neighbouring countries from Indian citizenship is “a direct assault and violation of the Indian Constitution.”
He accused the government of destroying the Indian Constitution and its values in order to “convert our secular democratic republic into the RSS version of a Hindutva Rashtra, which is nothing but a rabidly intolerant, theocratic, fascist project.”
Hitting out at the BJP government for its decision to disinvest in public sector firms, he alleged that the government, which destroyed the country’s social fabric, was now destroying its economy and economic foundation.
Referring to the nationalisation of oil sector companies done several years ago, the CPI (M) leader said: “Modi government is undoing entire nationalisation.”
“It has announced large-scale sale of India..we will not allow India to be sold by the Modi government and that is the first resolve of the CPI(M),” Yechury added.
