CAA Row: After Punjab, All Congress States Likely to Pass Resolution Against Citizenship Amendment Act
After three of its senior leaders opined that not implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act might be "unconstitutional", the Congress is considering passing resolution against the law in every state where it is in power.
New Delhi, January 20: After three of its senior leaders opined that not implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act might be "unconstitutional", the Congress is considering passing resolution against the law in every state where it is in power. Congress has indicated like Punjab anti-CAA resolution might be passed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Apart from Punjab, CPM-ruled Kerala has also passed a resolution against CAA. Why Citizenship Amendment Act+NRC Raise Fear And Concerns: A Multi-Dimensional Take.
"After Punjab, we are thinking about bringing a resolution against the CAA in states like Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh. It would be a clear message to the central government to reconsider the Act," senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel was quoted by Times of India as saying on Sunday. This is seen as an attempt to send a clear message that the Congress is against CAA as comments by three senior functionaries created confusion.
On Saturday, Kapil Sibal said that it would be a violation of the Constitution if states deny implementing the CAA. "If the CAA is passed no state can say 'I will not implement it'. It is not possible and is unconstitutional," Sibal, a former Minister of Law and Justice, said. "You can oppose it, you can pass a resolution in the assembly and ask the central government to withdraw it. But constitutionally saying that I won’t implement it is going to be problematic and going to create more difficulties," he added.
Similar views were expressed by Salman Khurshid who said that until the Supreme Court declared takes a call on CAA, states are constitutionally bound to implement the law. "If the Supreme Court doesn't interfere, it'll remain on the statute book. If something's on the statute book, you (states) have to obey the law, else there are consequences," Khurshid, a former Union Minister, told news agency ANI.
Another former minister Jairam Ramesh, in an interaction with a daily, pointed out that he was not sure state governments saying they would not implement CAA would stand judicial scrutiny. In a bid to erase confusion, the Congress on Sunday deployed senior advocate and its leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi who said that states challenging CAA could not be expected to implement a law.
Last week, the Kerala government moved the Supreme Court against the CAA, seeking to declare it "violative of the principles of equality, freedom and secularism enshrined in the Constitution". A resolution was also passed by the Kerala assembly against the legislation. Following in the southern State’s footsteps, the Punjab assembly on Friday passed a resolution demanding to scrap the contentious law.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 20, 2020 08:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).