Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav termed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) as a “divisive tactic and insult of the Constitution”.

Akhilesh Yadav said the Bharatiya Janata Party was pushing its divisive agenda only to divert public attention from the all-round failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in fulfilling promises made during the last Lok Sabha polls.

The Bahujan Samaj Party has already voiced its opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill .

“The income of farmers has not doubled, river Ganga remains polluted, economy is crippled, black money has not been recovered, employment generation has been nil so is development and above all there is no protection to the life and security of women. The BJP badly needed a divisive agenda to divert public attention from pressing issues .The CAB is an insult of India and our Constitution,” Akhilesh said in a tweet on Monday.

Earlier, the Bahujan Samaj Party had said that it would oppose the CAB in both Houses of Parliament as the bill was against the basic tenets of the Constitution’ drafted by Dr BR Ambedkar.

Countering the opposition charges, the BJP has maintained that the CAB should not be seen through the prism of religion.

“It is myopic on part of the opposition to interpret the CAB on grounds of religion. This bill has been brought by the government for strengthening internal security and to identify people who pose a threat to national security,” BJP spokesman Rakesh Tripathi said.

The BJP leader further said, “The Hindus are facing persecution in South Asian countries and many other nations. If they wish to come to India, their entry and citizenship will be facilitated by the government.”