A Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Madhya Pradesh, Narayan Tripathi, went against the party line and spoke against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Referring to the Act which has stirred the entire nation, Tripathi said that the country should not be divided on the basis of religion and expressed his concern over Muslims distancing themselves because of the new law, the Times of India reported.

Shedding light on other issues in the country, the MLA from Maihar constituency said that the government should address issues such as jobs and development. ‘Either you believe in the constitution framed by Baba Saheb Ambedkar or not. If you don’t believe in, just tear up and throw it,’ the minister told the national daily adding that India is a secular country.

Referring to the ‘submission of the documents’ to prove citizenship, the lawmaker said that the people in rural areas and the poor in urban areas faced several difficulties while applying for the Aadhaar card, then how will people get all the documents to prove their citizenship.

He clarified that he will not join Congress and neither he wants to leave BJP. ‘The CAA was enacted only for vote-bank, which is benefiting the BJP. This is not going to benefit the country,’ NDTV quoted the lawmaker.

Congress used Tripathi’s comment to launch a scathing attack against the ruling government. ‘This is a lesson for BJP that the conspiracy against the country will not be successful,’ said Congress’ state spokesperson, JP Dhanopia.

BJP’s state spokesperson, Rajneesh Agrawal, said that Tripathi is with BJP and if Tripathi has any confusion with the CAA, the party will resolve all his doubts.

Last year in July, Tripathi and another BJP MLA Sharad Kol had voted with the Congress and allied MLAs on the Criminal Law Amendment Bill in the Vidhan Sabha.

Also Read: Sedition Charge Against Karnataka School For Anti-CAA Play