Citizenship Act: Shouldn’t have given any value to Amit Shah’s words, says Kannan Gopinathan

Former IAS Officer Kannan Gopinathan has slammed Home Minister Amit Shah for not responding to his request to discuss Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). The Home Minister had promised on a national TV news channel that anybody who wants to discuss these laws with him can take an appointment and within three days his office will grant the appointment.

After Amit Shah’s offer former IAS officer sent an email to the Home Ministry requesting an appointment with the Home Minister for discussion on the CAA, NRC and NPR. But three days have passed and he hasn’t received any response from the ministry. Kannan in his tweet said that it just indicates that one should not pay attention to Home Minister Amit Shah’s words: “3 days. No response. Shouldn't have given any value to Amit Shah's words. Had to call the bluff though. One can't say anything on TV and get away with it when holding a responsible position. Don't worry. I am not pursuing it further. But please take this as a lesson in democracy,” tweeted Kannan.

Tweeting screenshot of his email to the Home Ministry, Kannan wrote, “As per his invite, have sought appointment with Amit Shah to discuss CAA-NRC-NPR. Looking forward.”

While speaking at a Time Now event on February 13, Amit Shah had said anyone who wants to discuss issues related to Citizenship (Amendment) Act with him can seek time from his office.

"(We) will give time within three days," the Home Minister had said.

The protesters at Shaheen Bagh, mainly women, have been staging a sit-in against the CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) for the past two months.

Earlier, Kannan Gopinathan had given a deadline to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw National Population Register. He also gave a call for a march to Delhi- 'Dilli Chalo' through his tweet.

"Dear PM Narendra Modi, you have time till March to withdraw this NPR notification. After that, we the people, from every single state, are coming to Delhi and are going to stay put until it is withdrawn. Don't take it otherwise. We don't have an option," tweeted Kannan Gopinathan.

Kannan Gopinathan quit the civil services last August in protest against the abrogation of Article 370 and the halving of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.