DMK holds state-wide protest against CAA

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu' opposition party DMK held a state-wide protest on Tuesday against the recent amendment to the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Party president MK Stalin, and Parliamentarians such Kanimozhi and former union minister Dayanidhi Maran and district secretaries fanned out across the state to stage protests.

DMK moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday against the CAA. The party's lawyers had mentioned the petition before the Supreme Court and the case is likely to be taken up on Wednesday along with other cases against the amendment to the Act, said senior advocate P Wilson, also a DMK MP in the Rajya Sabha.


Stalin spoke about the party's commitment to protecting the interests of minorities in Kanchipuram district, after holding a brief protest against the legislation.

On Monday, students held up placards and shouted slogans against the CAA; institutes including IIT-Madras, Madras University and other colleges in the state witnessed protests.

Makkal Needhi Maiam, the political outfit of actor Kamal Haasan, had moved the Supreme Court on Monday against the CAA. In a press release later in the evening, party vice-president R Mahendran said: "The Nation is already in distress due to the fall of our economy, shortage of essential commodities and the pathetic state of women safety. At this juncture the Government has chosen to pass an act that goes against the fundamentals of our Indian Constitution."

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a large rally in Kolkata against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. The CAA was signed into law by President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday last week. The votes of the AIADMK, BJD and JD(U) were crucial for the Bill to get through the Rajya Sabha.

The AIADMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu and a constituent of the BJP-led NDA voted in favour of the Bill, even though it raised concerns about the exclusion of Sri Lankan Tamils from the legislation.