Panaji: The Congress has suffered another shock. Four Goa Congress leaders tendered their resignations on Thursday. The decision to exit the party is a sign of protest over Congress’ stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens.

The ones who quit the party stating that they are in favour of the amended citizenship law are, Panaji Congress block committee president Prasad Amonkar, North Goa minority cell chief Javed Sheikh, block committee secretary Dinesh Kubal and former youth leader Shivraj Tarkar.

Stating that the Congress has taken a “wrong stand” on CAA and NRC, Amonkar added that as the opposition the Congress needs to be “critical and not oppose for the sake of opposing.” He also said that the Congress was attempting to mislead the public, especially minorities, by trying to create fear in the minds of minorities for political mileage and should stop.

"We all were part of the Congress' protest held last week against the CAA and NRC. But we realised that the leaders, through their speeches, were trying to create fear in the minds of minorities. This is not right," Amonkar said.

Goa is a peace-loving state and the Congress is trying to instigate the minorities, Amonkar alleged. The Citizenship Amendment Act has been enacted through a democratic process and seeks to give citizenship to refugees who have had centuries of cultural affinity with the Indian ethos, he said.

"The CAA addresses concerns of minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Members of the majority community in those countries, who want to apply for Indian citizenship, will still be able to do so as per the existing provisions," Amonkar added.

Congress has been opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act while terming it "unconstitutional".