Kamal Nath leads anti-CAA, NRC march in Bhopal

Bhopal: Thousands too part in the 'Save the Constitution' march, organised by the Congress, here on Wednesday, which was led by Chief Minister Kamal Nath.

The one-km-long march taken out for justice and peace, and mark the state's opposition to the proposed National Citizen's Register (NCR) and the Citizen's Amendment Act (CAA), covered about 2 km, from the Roshanpura Square to Minto Hall, in around 90 minutes. Most marchers carried banners against the CAA and the NRC.

The state is among those which have refused to implement the CAA, passed by Parliament last month.

"Any law that is anti-Constitution, anti-religion will not be enforced in Madhya Pradesh. The NRC and the CAA have hidden political intents of the BJP. We have to protect the Constitution and culture of the country," the Chief Minister said.

Kamal Nath said during his four decades in Parliament he had never come across a more divisive law as the one the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had brought. Such laws could divert public attention from the government's failure on the administrative front, he said.

"The peace march is not just for Bhopal or Madhya Pradesh, it's for the nation. We want to send a message from the heart of the nation on how the central government is trying to disintegrate the country," he said.

The question was not what was written in these laws, but what the government was trying to hide about them, Kamal Nath said and added, "The question is not what they will be used for. The question is about how these laws will be misused."

Along with all state Ministers, a large number of activists from organisations and parties, like the CPI and the Samajwadi Party, too part in the march.

Addressing the gathering, other Congress leaders said last time Kamal Math had hit the street was to dislodge the BJP from Madhya Pradesh, this time it was to protect democracy in the nation.

All those opposed to the unfair laws that threatened the unity of the nation were represented in the march, they said.

G Milind, a journalist based here for ten years, said it was the largest congregation of people marching in the new Bhopal areas. After failing to form governments in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the BJP was bound to be on the defensive on the NRC and the CAA, he said. "The people's response should make the BJP sit up and take notice," he said.

Reacting to the Congress rally, former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Congress was misleading the people and supporting divisive forces.

The BJP plans a counter-demonstration a fortnight later.