NEW DELHI, Jan 31 - Hailing the new Citizenship law as �historic� and a fulfilment of Mahatma Gandhi�s wish, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday deprecated any kind of violence in the name of protests, saying it weakened society and the nation, remarks that came amid protests against the contentious law.
The President�s glowing reference to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in his address to a joint sitting of Parliament drew protests from opposition members, many of whom wore black bands, with some shouting �shame shame� while BJP MPs thumped benches in support. The issue of atrocities against minorities in Pakistan was also brought up by the President.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the party�s leader in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad sat in the back rows in the Central Hall of Parliament instead of the front seats allotted to them to mark their protest against the law.
Delivering his 70-minute address in Hindi which marks the start of the Parliament�s Budget session, Kovind pointed out that mutual discussions and debates strengthen democracy. He also called for making this decade �India�s decade� and this century �India�s century�.
�At the same time, any kind of violence in the name of protests weakens society and the nation,� he said without directly referring to the anti-CAA protests in the country some of which have witnessed violence. � PTI
