New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday treaded cautiously on the constitutional validity of states passing resolutions not to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) saying since many states have filed petitions in the Supreme Court it was their fundamental right not to put the law into effect till the apex court decision comes. It also added that the people’s movement against CAA should go on “fearlessly”.
Claiming that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and CAA are as linked just like “scrambled egg”, senior lawyer and Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, “The Congress’ stand is clear. We are not against giving citizenship to anybody. Certainly, grant citizenship to Hindus and other communities, but what we oppose is when we grant citizenship to A, why deny it to B. That is the question being asked by civil society and others”.
Replying to a question on remarks made by another veteran lawyer Kapil Sibal on the CAA, Mr Singhvi said Mr Sibal has given clarification in a tweet and explained that “If the states put in a petition in the Supreme Court this means that the law’s constitutional validity has been challenged. So doesn’t the state have the right to not implement the law which it has challenged?”
“I don’t think there is any non-cooperation movement or rebellion as the government of India would like you to believe,” he added.
Congress chief spokes-person Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “PM Modi and HM Amit Shah are using the CAA as a manipulative smoke screen to divide and rule in order to hide their unpardonable failing of India’s economy, insurmountable unemployment and shocking suicides of the youth as a result thereof, ever incre-asing inflation including food inflation and prices of petrol – diesel, uncontrolled agrarian crisis with paralysis of governance being absolute and total”.
“The people’s movement against the CAA shall go on fearlessly; citizens, parties and states shall continue to oppose law with determination,” he said.
Incidentally, Mr Sibal himself tweeted earlier that every state Assembly has the constitutional right to pass a resolution and seek the amended Citizenship Act’s withdrawal, but if the law is declared constitutional by the apex court, it will be problematic to oppose it.
