Various organisations in Kerala have called for a hartal in the state on December 17 against Citizenship (Amendment) Act and The National Register of Citizens (NRC).
While political parties haven't extended support to the hartal, human rights forums have backed the hartal.
The hartal has been called by Welfare Party, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Dalit Human Rights Movement (DHRM) among others. According to media reports, a few social activists too have extended support to the hartal.
In a statement, these forums have claimed that both the CAB and NRC are divisive and are against the fundamental right of equality granted by the Constitution. Dubbing CAB the 'death of Constitution' they said there is a need for strong protest against the move to make a section of people stateless.
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The Lok Sabha had passed the contentious bill on Monday and the Rajya Sabha cleared it on Wednesday, notwithstanding simmering anger over the issue for the last several months. On Thursday, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, turning it into an Act.
According to the Act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
Meanwhile, the protest against the Act is raging in Northeast, especially Assam where at least two people have been died and several other injured on Thursday after opened fire on the demonstrators protesting against the Act.