Citizenship bill was passed with AIADMK's support: Stalin

Hitting out at the AIADMK, DMK President M.K. Stalin on Monday said the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill would have been defeated in the Rajya Sabha had only the 11 members of Tamil Nadu's ruling party voted against it.

In a statement issued here, Stalin also said there was no urgency for the Central government to introduce the Bill, adding that it was brought in "mainly to divert the people's attention from the Central government's failure on the economic front".

Noting that when the Bill was put to vote in the Rajya Sabha, it got 125 votes in support and 105 votes against, he said that had only the AIADMK realised its trump card and voted against the Bill, the Central government's idea of dividing the nation on religious lines could have been prevented.

According to Stalin, if the 11 AIADMK members voted against the Bill, then the votes against it in the upper house would have gone up to 116 and the votes in favour would have gone down to 114.

The DMK has called a protest against the law in the state on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the MNM party of Kamal Haasan said it has filed a case in the Supreme Court against the amended law.IANS