THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Sunday reiterated his stand regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act by stating that the act will help to protect those who are facing religious persecutions in neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. He was talking to a private channel when he defended the CAA.

While speaking about the CAA, the governor said that he did not consider himself to be from a minority community. "I don't consider myself as a minority community. If I had the power, I would have forcefully implemented the CAA as it is my duty to uphold the constitution. The CAA has become a law once it got assented by the President and nobody can deny it," he said. However, the governor further added that he was not ready to advise the state government to implement the act.

When quizzed about his political statements at the Indian History Congress, he replied that he was just answering to the questons raised by historian Irfan Habib."Irfan Habib raised some questions at the venue and I replied to them as I felt that it was my responsibilty to do so," he added. He also added that the historian had violated the protocol by speaking up during the function.

The governor also took the opportunity to criticize Congress for dividing the country on the basis of religion