'Centre should review CAA, hold democratic debate': Kerala's Cardinal Alencherry

Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Syro Malabar Church in Kerala on Tuesday urged the Center to review the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Speaking to the media Alencherry said, "I urge the Centre to review the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. We need a more democratic debate on this act. The problem in the act is that it is dividing the religions." 

Kerala CM’s stand on CAA 

After the Citizen (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by the Parliament, the Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan said it would not be implemented in the state. On the same day when the bill was passed in Rajya Sabha, all political parties that have representation in the Kerala Assembly sat on a joint protest against the new Citizenship law. However, the state Congress President Mullapally Ramachandran said that the parties in the state would not conduct joint protests anymore.

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LDF to form a human chain 

After a key meeting of the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) state committee sat together to discuss the Citizen (Amendment) Act on Tuesday, December 17, the alliance has decided to intensify its protest against the newly amended citizenship law. According to reports, the LDF alliance will be forming a human chain on January 26, 2020.

READ | Kerala Governor Says, 'NRC Was Introduced By The Congress In 1985'

Protests in Kerala

Various anti-CAA and NRC protest have also erupted in Kerala. On Wednesday, the members of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) attacked an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) karyakarta in Kerala for talking about his views on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The students of Sree Kerala Varma College were seen thrashing a fellow student mercilessly in the corridors and hallways of the college. ABVP posted the video from its official Twitter handle and took a jibe at the claims of peaceful protests across the country. This Act grants Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

READ | Kerala Minister Slams Central Govt Over CAA, Says 'joint Strike Is Inevitable'

READ | Kerala Students Block Movement Of ISRO Bus Amid Anti-CAA Protests

(with ANI inputs)