Telangana to pass anti-CAA resolution in state Assembly; asks Centre to stop discrimination on basis of religion

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Sunday decided to pass an Assembly resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act, joining the ranks of anti-CAA states. The Telangana government took the decision in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, while urging the Centre to repeal the changes in the amended citizenship law. [caption id=“attachment_4449945” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image K Chandrasekhar Rao. Twitter@TelanganaCMO[/caption] It also appealed to the Centre “not to discriminate” on the basis of religion in granting citizenship to anyone. “The State Cabinet appealed to the Union Government, not to discriminate on the basis of religion while granting Indian citizenship. It requested that all religions must be treated as equal before the law,” an official release on decisions taken in the Cabinet meeting said on late Sunday night. The Cabinet, chaired by the chief minister, popularly known as KCR, felt that CAA would lead to discrimination on the basis of religion and jeopardise secularism envisaged in the Constitution. “The Cabinet further requested the Centre to take measures to abrogate the CAA which will lead to discrimination on the basis of religion while granting citizenship and thereby jeopardising secularism envisaged in the constitution,” the release said. The state Cabinet decided to pass the anti-CAA resolution in the state Assembly on the lines of the ones passed by Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal, it said. Coming out strongly against the CAA, Rao had said in January he might convene a meeting of regional parties and chief ministers to oppose the amended citizenship law . “The state Assembly may pass a resolution, like the other states did, against the CAA,” he had said then. The Cabinet meeting, which began on Sunday evening, concluded late in the night. It also decided to organize “Pattana Pragathi” (progress of towns) programme, aimed at ensuring cleanliness, greenery and planned development in urban areas, for 10 days beginning 24 February in all towns and cities of the state, a separate official release said. A state-level ‘municipal conference’, to be attended by mayors, municipal chairpersons, commissioners, MLAs and district collectors, would be held on 18 February in Hyderabad to finalise the guidelines for the proposed programme, it said.