BJP MLA Narayan Tripathy in MP terms CAA divisive

Bhopal: Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Maihar in Madhya Pradesh Narayan Tripathy on Tuesday came out openly against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), causing a ripple in his party. Tripathy, who had literally raised a banner of revolt by voting for a Bill moved by the treasuring bench in the state Assembly around three months ago, sparked unease in BJP by opposing CAA.

“CAA is a divisive law. It is a threat to unity and integrity of India. Our Constitution makers wanted India to be secular, but CAA goes against the spirit of the Constitution. We now have to decide if we should honour our constitution or tear it apart against the backdrop of passage of CAA in the parliament. CAA has caused distrust among different communities. Muslims in villages who earlier used to attend Hindu functions are now turning their faces away,” Tripathy told reporters.

A video showing him making the statement has gone viral in social media, causing huge embarrassment to the BJP. However, the BJP sought to play down the issue.

“Tripathy is in BJP and will remain in BJP. He may seek clarification from the party leadership if he has any doubt on CAA,” BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal told this newspaper.