Agartala, March 12 (IANS): The opposition CPI-M and Congress along with Tipra Motha Party (TMP) in Tripura on Monday criticised the Central government over the notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules.

Leaders from the CPI-M and the Congress claimed that the decision to notify the CAA rules was taken to reap undue political benefits "by polarising voters on religious lines" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

CPI-M Tripura state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said: "It is not commensurate with the spirit of the Constitution. The intention of issuing the notification ahead of the Parliamentary polls was to consolidate their vote bank through communal polarisation."

The Left leader said the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) would raise the issue during the party's campaign.

Tripura unit Congress President Ashish Kumar Saha, said: "The notification of CAA rules was made as a political instrument to divert the public attention."

Saha, who is the Congress candidate for the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat and pitted against former Tripura Chief Minister and BJP candidate Biplab Kumar Deb, said that the Congress is undeterred on its reservations against both CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

"We oppose both of them," the Congress leader said.

Tipra Motha Party (TMP) founder and former royal scion-turned-politician Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman, who had earlier organised a series of protests against the CAA, said: "Our party's as well as my personal stance on CAA remain same. We believe that until the entire law is made public, we shall not know what protection was given to tribals of the northeast region under it."