Congress divided over CAA implementation

Difference of opinions among Congress leaders have started coming to fore over the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in States of the country following the passing of resolution against the new legislation by the Assemblies of Kerala and Punjab.

After Congress leader Kapil Sibal, party colleague and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also said that a State cannot refuse to implement a law passed by Parliament.

"Once a law or act is passed by the Parliament, I think that the constitutional view is that, any state can't and should not say no but this has to be legally examined," Hooda told ANI on Sunday.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who is also a renowned lawyer, had said that no State can say that it will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, as doing so will be unconstitutional.

Former union minister and party leader Salman Khurshid also backed Sibal and said 'if something is on the statute book, you have to obey the law'.

"If the SC doesn't interfere, it'll remain on the statute book. If something is on the statute book, you have to obey the law, else there are consequences. It is a matter where the state governments have a very serious difference of opinion with the Centre as far as this (CAA) law is concerned. So, we would wait for the final pronouncement made by the SC. Ultimately, the SC will decide and till then everything said, done, not done is provisional and tentative," he said.

However, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said that that his party is thinking about bringing a resolution against the CAA in Congress-ruled states.

"After Punjab, we are thinking about bringing a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. It would be a clear message to the Central Government to reconsider the Act," he said.

Several Opposition parties including Congress are opposing the CAA grants citizenship to the non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. Several petitions have also been filed against the new Act in the Supreme Court.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also announced that his government will be joining the Kerala government in the Apex Court against CAA.