West Bengal on Monday passed a resolution against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) to become the fourth non-BJP state to take the legislative route, prompting the Centre to tell the opposition parties it is a "constitutional blunder" and they should not forget their duty to the nation.
As the opposition-ruled states were on a collision course on the CAA with the NDA government, Defence minister Rajnath Singh asserted every state should implement the Act as it was a central law.
The Assembly in Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal approved the resolution brought by the state government demanding that the CAA be repealed forthwith, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said it is "against the Constitution and humanity". The resolution was backed by both the opposition parties Congress and the CPI(M)-led Left Front but opposed by the BJP.
Kerala, Rajasthan and Punjab in the recent weeks passed resolutions against the new citizenship law that has triggered nationwide protests and a vicious political slugfest.
Unfazed by more and more states adopting a formal resolution against the CAA and refusing to implement it, Defence minister Rajnath Singh said it is not a law to hurt the sentiments of any religion but to give relief to victims of religious persecution in non-secular countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
"The CAA is a central law and everyone(state) should follow it," he told a rally in Mangaluru in Karnataka which recently witnessed violent anti-CAA protests in which two people lost their lives.
Accusing the Congress of misleading people on the issue, he said the party should not forget its "rashtradharma" (national duty) for the sake of its "vipakshdharma" (duties as opposition party).
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"Some opposition parties are passing resolutions in assemblies (where they have a majority) that their states will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act. I want to appeal to them not to do such things. This is a constitutional blunder. Please do not do such blunder," he said.
Mahatma Gandhi had told Jawaharlal Nehru to give citizenship to minorities like Hindus and Sikhs if they come to India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled that vision by bringing in the law, Singh added.
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha termed the passing of anti-CAA resolutions by non-BJP states a constitutional crisis, saying this can't be ignored.
He stressed there was no need to bring the legislation as it was "anti-democratic" and "divided people on the basis of religion".
"There is a constitutional crisis. You cannot ignore state governments. You have to take them into confidence," Sinha told reporters in Lucknow when asked about resolutions passed by states against the CAA.
In a related development, the Congress moved the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) demanding action against alleged police atrocities on anti-CAA protesters in Uttar Pradesh, claiming that victims have been made accused in case-related FIRs and no police officer has been named.
The delegation, led by senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, met top NHRC officials in Delhi and made a detailed 31-page representation which included videos and photographs as "evidence" of alleged atrocities and human rights violations in the state.
After the meeting, Rahul Gandhi alleged the UP government has "gone to war against its own people" and urged the NHRC to act decisively to protect the "Constitutional rights of our citizens".
After the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi told reporters, "In Uttar Pradesh, there has been gross human rights violations. We have submitted videos and photos to the NHRC."
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