If elected president, will ensure CAA is not implemented: Yashwant Sinha

Guwahati, July 13: Opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday said that if he is elected, he will ensure that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is not implemented.

Interacting with opposition lawmakers of Assam, Sinha said the BJP-led government has not been able to implement the CAA so far as it was "foolishly drafted" in a hurry.

"Citizenship is a major issue for Assam, and the government wanted to bring in the Act across the country but has not been able to do so yet," he said.

"Earlier, the government gave the excuse of COVID, but even now they have not been able to implement it because it is an Act foolishly drafted in a hurry," he added.

Sinha alleged that the Constitution was in danger not from any outside force, but from those in power.

"This presidential election is of special significance as it is a fight to save Constitution," he asserted.

"If I am in Rashtrapati Bhavan, I will ensure that CAA is not implemented," he said.

Sinha said he was compelled to leave the BJP in 2018 after realising that the present leadership has taken "a completely wrong" path.

Later, speaking to reporters, he alleged that every institution of the country is being subverted by the ruling party and its government.

"Agencies like the ED, CBI, Income Tax department and even the governor's offices are being used to target opposition leaders, to engineer defections and topple opposition-run state governments," he claimed.

"The ruling party has embarked on an evil design to communally polarise India's multi-faith society, and its agenda of one nation, one party, one ruler is meant to convert democratic India into an imitator of Communist China," he said.

Sinha said he was dismayed that NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu has not addressed a press conference yet.

"People do not know what she stands for. I have great personal regard for Droupadi Murmu, but this election is not about persons and their identities but about their commitment to Constitution," he said.

Sinha, a former Union minister, said he wanted to visit every Northeastern state, but due to time constraint, he was appealing to the lawmakers of those states from Guwahati to listen to their conscience and vote in a rational manner.

Following the meeting, Rajya Sabha's Independent MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan said Sinha was most suited for the president's post as he has a deep understanding of the country.

MLA Akhil Gogoi said he has decided to support Sinha as the democracy is in grave danger.

CPI(M) MLA Manoranjan Talukdar claimed, "The BJP has pushed the country to the brink of destruction. We will fight whether we win or not.