New Delhi: Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has ordered a lawyer's black robe to be stitched, leading to speculation that he may fight his petition in person in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
It may have been long years since Gogoi, 83, had last taken his seat as a lawyer inside a courtroom, but on Wednesday, he is expected to appear alongside fellow Congressman and former Union home and finance minister P Chidambaram, to argue his case questioning the constitutional validity of the newly-enacted Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Gogoi, a three-time CM of the state from 2001 to 2016, is among a score of other petitioners that have challenged the Constitutionality of the CAA.
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The main argument of the former CM challenging the CAA is on grounds of violation of the basic structure of the Constitution and the Assam Accord inked in 1985.
Article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees equality before the law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
On the other hand, CAA proposes Indian citizenship to people of six religions (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) from three countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan) on grounds of religious persecution if they have been residing in India before December 31, 2014, for at least 12 months immediately preceding the application for citizenship and for 6 of the 14 years preceding the 12-month period.
Assam had seen a popular six-year long movement against illegal immigrants. It culminated in 1985 with the signing of the Assam Accord which laid down March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for grant of citizenship and where religion was no consideration.
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The CAA has become a very emotive issue in Assam and in the other Northeastern states that have been reeling from the onslaught of illegal immigration from Bangladesh since decades.
The nationwide protests against the CAA got kick-started in Guwahati before spreading to other areas in Assam and then to many cities across the country.
More than 24 petitions have been registered against the CAA that gained presidential assent on December 12. Besides Gogoi, the petitioners include Assam Congress leaders Ripun Bora and Debabrata Saikia, Jairam Ramesh, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, etc.
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