“I give an assurance (to the people) that we won’t not let Citizenship (Amendment) Act set foot in Tamil Nadu,” Stalin said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), reacting to Union minister of state Santanu Thakur’s remarks that the legislation will be implemented across the country in a week.
He also criticised the AIADMK, then an ally of the BJP, for supporting the bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Stalin, who is currently in Spain meeting investors, recalled that the DMK had held protests against the Act in Tamil Nadu when they were in the opposition and AIADMK was in government. DMK had also mobilised 20 million signatures against its implementation and had sent it to the then President of India.
“As soon as we came to office in 2021, we passed a resolution in the assembly demanding the withdrawal of CAA,” Stalin said. “The DMK government will never allow the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in Tamil Nadu.”
Stalin further accused the BJP of acting against religious harmony in the country, and hit out at the AIADMK’s “drama” to support it. The AIADMK left the BJP alliance last September.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami hit back at Stalin saying that the DMK’s opposition to BJP is only lip service. “AIADMK will never allow minorities to be impacted by the CAA,” EPS said on X. “It is DMK who backstabbed minorities.”
