Taking exception to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s criticism of the NDA government at the Centre over the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Union Minister G Kishan Reddy challenged Rao to point out anything in the amended Citizenship Act that affects anyone in the country.
His response comes a day after Rao said the State assembly may pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) like some other states did recently. “I condemn KCR ji for announcing that he will not implement CAA in Telangana, while talking about the central government. I challenge the Chief Minister to show if there is anything in the Act that affects any of the 130 crore people (in the country),” the Union Minister of State for Home told reporters in Hyderabad.
Rao or his TRS does not have the moral right to criticise the BJP on the matter, he said.
State BJP president K Laxman claimed that Rao has joined the Congress in opposing CAA with “unfounded doubts and ill- motives.” BJP has been stating that Congress and TRS were similar and it is becoming evident now, he alleged.
Coming out strongly against the law, Rao had on Saturday said he may convene a meeting of regional parties and Chief Ministers to oppose the amended citizenship law.
Asserting that the TRS was secular by nature and policy, he said the CAA was a wrong decision by the Centre as the Constitution provides fundamental rights to all people of the country irrespective of religion, caste and creed. As such, keeping Muslims outside the bill (CAA) itself pained him, he had said.