Kamal Nath should read Constitution, states bound to implement CAA: Vijayvargiya

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has slammed Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath for refusing to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state and said that he should read the Constitution.

He asserted that all the states are bound to implement the new citizenship law.

"He (Kamal Nath) should read the Constitution of the country. Once a bill is passed by the Parliament and becomes an Act, all the states are bound to implement it under Article 252 of the Constitution," Vijayvargiya told ANI on Wednesday.

Part XI of the Constitution of India, which includes Article 245 to Article 263, dictates the relationship between the union government and the state governments.

Vijayvargiya said that it was unfortunate when a person sitting on a constitutional position "says such unconstitutional things".

"Politics is only one thing, however, Congress is only worrying about their power and vote bank. They are not thinking about the country," the BJP leader said.

Asked about All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi's opposition to the new citizenship law, Vijayvargiya asserted he will oppose whatever the BJP does.

"Owaisi will always do this. If the BJP says that milk is white, he will say no, it is black. The day Owaisi wants to understand the act, he will. He is an intelligent man. But as long as he is not willing to, there is nothing anyone can do," he said.

Vijayvargiya said that the citizenship law is for the welfare of the people.

"I think sensible people will not oppose the CAA. We are also addressing the concerns of the people to counter the way opposition has tried to disrupt peace in the country in the past few days," he added.

Vijayvargiya's remarks come as the governments in West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have said that they will not implement the citizenship law in their respective states.