CAA Ignores Tamil Refugees! DMK Files Affidavit in Supreme Court

DMK says CAA ignores Tamil Refugees

Tamil Nadu’s ruling party DMK on Wednesday filed an affidavit before supreme court and said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 is arbitrary as it relates to only three countries – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and
it is considers only six religions (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian)and expressly excludes Muslims.

Filing an affidavit before the Supreme Court in its petition challenging the CAA, the DMK has said that “The Act ignores the reality that for several decades Tamil refugees who have settled in Tamil Nadu are deprived of their fundamental rights and other rights due to non-citizenship and non-naturalisation,”

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court in its petition challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA). The DMK says that while keeping religious minorities in mind, it is also taking care of Indian-origin Tamils who fled persecution in Sri Lanka and are currently living in India as refugees.

The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA), gives Indian citizenship to minorities from three neighboring countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Under this law, those minorities will get citizenship of India, who have taken refuge in India for a long time. These include Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities of 6 religions. However, the Muslim religion has been excluded from this law.

A batch of 220 petitions are pending in supreme court against CAA. Some of the petitioners include Kerala-based Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Congress leader and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress leader Debabrata Saikia, NGOs Rihai Manch and Citizens Against Hate, Assam Advocates Association, and some law students.