BSP opposes citizenship law, but does not believe in violence, destruction of public property, says Mayawati on anti-CAA agitations

Lucknow: Asserting the BSP’s opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, its chief Mayawati on Friday said that her party does not believe in violence and destruction of public property.

“We have always opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act right from the beginning when the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was tabled in the Parliament. We have been concerned about the way this unconstitutional Act has been implemented and the fear of division among the people. We have been protesting against it since the beginning but like other parties we don’t believe in the destruction of public property and violence,” she told ANI.

Mayawati said that parliamentary MPs from BSP had met President Ram Nath Kovind over the new citizenship law. “We will continue to oppose the Act. This is wrong,” said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

On Wednesday, a BSP parliamentary delegation met the President over the CAA, asserting that the law “violates” the Constitution and called for a judicial inquiry to look into the alleged police action against students across the country.

Follow LIVE updates on protests against Citizenship Amendment Act

Earlier on Tuesday, Mayawati demanded the rollback of the newly-enacted citizenship law and said that its implementation would leave a negative impact on the society in the near future.

Protests have erupted in various parts of the country over the CAA, which grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, and who entered India on or before 31 December 2014.