Protesting MPs in India’s Kerala State parliament obstructed the governor’s path and heckled his speech amidst the fight over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
White-clad lawmakers from the bloc United Democratic Front (UDF) blocked Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's approach to the podium on Wednesday morning. They held placards with anti-CAA slogans and demands for Khan to be recalled, as the governor waited patiently for his way to be cleared.
#WATCH Thiruvananthapuram: United Democratic Front (UDF) MLAs block Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan as he arrives in the assembly for the budget session. CM Pinarayi Vijayan also accompanying the Governor. pic.twitter.com/oXLRgyN8Et
— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2020
Khan managed get to the podium with the help of parliament marshals. The heckling MPs then walked out when the governor began his speech, and staged a sit-in outside the parliament building.
Thiruvananthapuram: State assembly marshals escort Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to his chair as United Democratic Front (UDF) MLAs continue to raise slogans of "recall Governor". pic.twitter.com/WHoIivugM5
— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2020
In late December, Kerala, a state on India's southwestern coast, became the first region to pass a resolution calling on the central government in New Delhi to repeal the CAA, challenging the law in the Supreme Court. Three more states followed suit – Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
Governor Khan, whose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the main proponent of the law, blasted Kerala's government for opposing the CAA. He accused his opponents of violating procedural rules and vowed not to "sit as a mute spectator" in the fight.
The CAA makes it easier to get citizenship for religious minorities which have arrived from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but does not do the same for Muslims. Those opposed to the law have called it “discriminatory” and staged protest rallies across India, some of which spiraled into rioting and clashes with police.
The Indian government, meanwhile, insists that the law is a necessary humanitarian measure and is not detrimental to anyone.
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