In a surprising development, Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA Narayan Tripathi on Tuesday (January 28) said that he was against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens, adding that it is not right to divide the country along religious lines.
“Either you follow the constitution or tear it off because it lays emphasis on secularism and the country can’t be divided along religious lines. Yet the country is being divided along religious lines,” he noted.
Justifying his stand, which is set to create ripples within the BJP, the Maihar legislator said that he belongs to a village and villagers are not happy with the idea of NRC. Tripathi added that the Centre must keep in mind the fact that it is not easy for people in rural areas to get an Aadhar card and even the poor in urban areas face similar problem then how will they get the documents to prove their citizenship.
“When getting an Aadhar card made is difficult for people in rural areas and the poor in urban areas where will the people get all the documents to prove their citizenship,” he said.
Tripathi claimed that Muslims in villages are suspicious and are not interacting with people of other communities and it has created an atmosphere of gruh kalah (domestic strife) in the country. The BJP MLA asserted that the country cannot remain peaceful if such an atmosphere prevails.
It is to be noted that Tripathi had supported the Congress in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on a bill in 2019 but no action was taken by the BJP against him.
