By Sfoorti Mishra

New Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS): "Although I am a Buddhist, I still oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)," Congress leader Udit Raj told IANS on Wednesday.

The former MP, who staged a dharna at the Jantar Mantar here against CAA on Wednesday, said the new citizenship law was an attack on the soul of the Constitution which guaranteed equality.

"I am against this act because it is an attack on the Indian Constitution, especially on Article 14. The Indian Constitution says that no person can be discriminated against on the basis of religion, caste, sex, descent or birth. Therefore, I find the act discriminative."

The former Parliamentarian said, "I took to Buddhism around 10 years ago because I rejected the caste system in which I was born. It is fine that Buddhists have been included in the CAA, but how can I sit and relax just because Buddhists are included? It is an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution, which is secularism."

Raj, the former BJP MP from northwest Delhi who jumped ship to the Congress in April this year, went on to launch an attack on the NDA government, saying, "Our agenda to oppose this act is larger than the Muslim element. I see it as a delusion of the Constitution. The NDA government had started unfollowing the Constitution ever since 2014.

"Recruitment in government jobs for people belonging to SC/ST/OBC and tribal communities has been cut shot drastically. Privatisation of government departments and public sector is in full swing, unemployment is at an all-time high, but yet this government is hell-bent on polarisation."

Raj quit the BJP for the Congress after being replaced by singer Hans Raj Hans as the saffron party's candidate from the northwest Delhi Lok Sabha constituency ahead of the general elections.