Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, extending his support to protest against the National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Act.
In the letter, Pawar stated that he had received a note from Mamata on December 23 raising serious concerns over the current “alarming” situation across the nation in the wake of the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Parliament.
He said that he completely agrees with the concerns raised and pledged to stand in solidarity with all like-minded leaders and parties to protest against the implementation of CAA and NRC.
The NCP chief further said that it is to his delight to associate himself with any concerted plan to rise against the “authoritarian regime” of the Central Government and save the democracy.
Sharad Pawar was responding to a letter written by Mamata Banerjee in which she had urged the Opposition leaders to unite and chalk out a plan to “save the country”.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been vehemently leading massive protests against the CAA and NRC on the streets of Kolkata.
Mamata had on December 23 called for opposition unity by uniting all like-minded parties on a platform to protest against the “draconian” BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime.
In a letter to non-BJP chief ministers and senior leaders, Banerjee said, “Let us all meet and chalk our a concerted plan to protect and save democracy”.
Stating that she was writing the letter with “grave worries” in her mind, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief claimed that citizens were in the grip of “fear and panic” over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“The situation is serious. We need to rise against this draconian regime in a united manner. I request all my senior leaders and the political outfits to stand up against this in a concerted and united manner,” she wrote.
The TMC supremo called for creating “peaceful and meaningful” opposition to the Centre’s “unholy efforts” and save India’s democratic soul.
Meanwhile, Mamata has said that no detention centres for illegal migrants would be set up in the state nor would the Citizenship Amendment Act be implemented in her lifetime.
Warning the BJP against using force in the BJP-ruled states to suppress protests against CAA, she had said the BJP would face problems if non-BJP-ruled states decided to do the same against its leaders and workers.
She also appealed to the students to continue their movement on the issue without bowing to threats and repression.
States of West Bengal, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Chhattisgarh have announced that they will not implement either the National Register of Citizens (NRC) or the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Meanwhile, West Bengal and Kerala are the only two states which have stopped the National Population Register (NPR) procedures since they believe it is the first step for the contentious NRC.