Chennai: A meeting of DMK and its allies, including the Left parties, here on Wednesday demanded the Centre to immediately rescind the amendment to the Citizenship Act and slammed the proposed nation-wide National Register of Citizens as "antithetical," to the Constitution.
A resolution adopted at the meet alleged the amendment had a "dimension of religion and race" and "ignored Eelam Tamils", and urged the Centre to immediately withdraw it based on good faith and to ensure peace.
The meet, chaired by DMK president M K Stalin at the party headquarters 'Anna Arivalayam' here, saw the participation of leaders of alliance parties, including MDMK chief Vaiko, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K S Alagiri, state secretaries of CPI (M) K Balakrishnan and CPI's R Mutharasan.
The resolution, which condemned the Citizenship Amendment Act said it was detrimental to India's pluralistic ethos and the proposed NRC is "antithetical to the Constitution, and an arrangement to make (our) brothers refugees in their own country."
Due to the NRC exercise in Assam, not only Muslims but also many lakhs of Hindus were grappling without an idea about their future, the resolution alleged.
Stalin, briefing reporters on the meeting, said, "We have decided to take out a mega rally to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act on December 23 in Chennai." "We appeal to all, including students and general public, to take part in the rally by cutting across partylines," he said. To a question, Stalin said the Centre should heed to appeals at least now against the CAA considering the nation-wide protests against it.
"The opposition to CAA does not happen only in Tamil Nadu. In particular, in North India (an apparent reference to the violence in Delhi), the opposition is raging. Hence, at least now, after such incidents, the Centre should pay heed to calls for withdrawal of CAA," he said.
DMK and its allies oppose the CAA since Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka and Muslims were not included for grant of citizenship, Stalin said.