Rajasthan Assembly to reject Citizenship Amendment Act

Jaipur/New Delhi: The Congress-ruled Rajasthan has decided to bring in a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the budget session of the state assembly beginning on January 24.

Parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal said the Assembly session will begin on January 24.

The session was convened to ratify a Bill to extend reservation to SC and ST candidates in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for another 10 year before January 25, Mr Dhariwal said.

He also said the government is mulling to introduce a resolution against the CAA in the Assembly session.

“The Congress is against the CAA and therefore a resolution is likely to be introduced in the Assembly,” he said.

Official sources said that the resolution is likely to be introduced on the very first day of the session.

Kerala and Punjab have already passed the resolution to step up pressure on the Centre against the amended law.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Sunday said that the states ruled by his party would consider bringing in a resolution in the Assemblies against enforcement of the CAA.

Anti-CAA protests will continue: Cong
In an official reaction to Mr Sibal’s comments, the Congress on Sunday said that states have the right to challenge the Centre and cannot be “forced” to implement the “unconstitutional law” till the petition in the Supreme Court is decided.

Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a statement that the CAA is an attack on India’s Constitution and the people’s movement against the Act shall continue “courageously and fearlessly.”

The Congress’ assertion comes a day after senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said there is no way a state can deny the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) when it is already passed by Parliament.

He, however, later asserted 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 Supreme Court, then it will be problematic to oppose it.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah have become living symbols of ‘sectarianism, bigotry and fanaticism’ using the instrument of state to attack India’s ethos and its Constitution,” Mr Surjewala alleged.

Repeated statements being made by the home minister and Governors “forcing” the states to implement the CAA are itself preposterous and go against the very concept of ‘constitutional federalism,’ Mr Surjewala said.

His remarks come at a time when a tussle is going on between the Kerala government and the state Governor Arif Mohammad Khan over the Left dispensation approaching the Supreme Court against the CAA.

“Let the BJP government and its Governors not forget that India is a Union of states. As per the established parliamentary practice, states can disagree with the Union and challenge it by way of their constitutional right under Article 131,” Mr Surjewala said.