Political leaders meet protesters

COIMBATORE: Communist Party of India (Marxist) central committee member P Sampath and chief coordinator of Naam Tamizhar Katchi Seeman on Saturday addressed the people, who have gathered at masjid ground on Aathupalam Junction in the city, to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, national registry of citizens (NRC) and the national people’s register (NPR).
It would be wrong to call the countrywide protest ‘Muslim protests’, Sampath said. “The Muslim brethren have been spearheading the protest to safeguard the sovereignty of the country, the Constitution and secularism. The ruling BJP is not concerned about this and is working against the Constitution,” he said.
There are 18 crore Muslims in India and they had fought for the country’s freedom, the CPM leader said. “They are Tipu Sultan’s heirs.”
“While 13 states have passed resolutions against CAA, the Edappadi K Palaniswami-led government in Tamil Nadu has been insisting that the Act would not affect Muslims. It is not Palaniswami’s voice, but the voice of the Sangh Parivar and RSS,” Sampath added.
Seeman, who spoke at the venue later in the day, said the BJP government is distracting people from issues such as privatization of Air India and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). “The Act is not only against Muslims, but against all Indians,” he said.