Complaint filed against Sonia, Priyanka for delivering provocative speeches over CAA

New Delhi, Dec 24: A complaint was filed against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others for giving provocative speeches against the amended Citizenship Act.

The complaint, filed by advocate Pradeep Gupta, also includes the names of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and journalist Ravish Kumar.

The chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh accepted the complaint, and the matter will now be heard on January 24.

In a scathing attack against the BJP over anti-citizenship protests, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday, 20 December, accused the government of showing "utter disregard" for people's voices and said it has unleashed "brute repression" which was "unacceptable" in a democracy.

Condemning the government's action, she expressed Congress' solidarity with students and citizens in their "just struggle".

In a televised message, she asserted that people have the right to raise their voice against wrong decisions and policies of the government, and register their concerns.

"The Congress party assures the people of India that it is fully committed to stand up and defend their fundamental rights and uphold the foundational values of our Constitution," she said.

Gandhi's message comes amidst raging protests across the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

What is Citizenship Amendment Act?

The act provides citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Several such persons are living in India since the time of partition and are without any legal rights. The Modi government says that this Bill is aimed at correcting a historical wrong.

The minimum residency period thanks to this Bill would be reduced from 12 years to 7 years and this would not be specific to any state barring those areas under the ILP regime and under the Sixth Schedule.

Who are protesting?

The Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPM and a few other political parties have been opposing the bill, claiming that citizenship can't be given on the basis of religion.