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Updated December 13th, 2019 at 18:18 IST

MHA: 'States can't deny implementation of Citizenship (Amendment) Act'

After as many as five states refused to implement the amended Citizenship Act, sources at the MHA have said that the states hold no power to deny union law

Reported by: Digital Desk
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After as many as five states refused to implement the amended Citizenship Act, sources at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have said that the states hold no power to deny union law. According to the MHA sources, the issue of citizenship comes under Union List by the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, and therefore such amendment is applicable for all states. The five states, which have refused to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, include West Bengal, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Kerala.

Sources also said that states cannot deny the implementation of the Act as it comes under Union List and they have to accept it in the current form passed by Parliament of India. The Union List is given in the Seventh Schedule in the Constitution of India on which Parliament has exclusive power to legislate.

The legislative section is divided into three lists: Union List, State List, and Concurrent List. Unlike the federal governments of the United States, Switzerland, and Australia, residual powers remain with the Union Government, as with the Canadian federal government.

READ | Shiv Sena To Reject CAB In Maharashtra? NCP-Congress Pressurize Uddhav Thackeray: Sources

States refusing to implement CAB

Earlier today, in a big statement, Congress Maharashtra Minister Nitin Raut categorically stated that the grand old party will not allow the Citizenship (Amendment) Act to be implemented in the state. The statement comes as ally Shiv Sena has been flip-flopping over the issue. Shiv Sena has been purportedly put under pressure by allies-- NCP and Congress to reject the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 passed by the Parliament on December 11.

Meanwhile, Captain Amarinder Singh, Kamal Nath, Mamata Banerjee, Pinrayi Vijayan, and Bhupesh Baghel the chief ministers of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, and Chhattisgarh respectively have withdrawn their support for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The chief ministers of the five states have refused the implementation of the Act. 

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What is CAB?

On Thursday, President Ram Nath Kovind signed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 (CAB), making it a law. The Citizenship Amendment Act amends the Citizenship Act 1955 to make refugees who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship. Moreover, the Bill exempts exempt the inner line permit areas in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh and areas falling under the Sixth Schedule in the region and will be applicable to the members of these communities having arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.

READ | Congress Laying Down The Law To CM Uddhav Thackeray? Maha Min Says 'won't Allow CAB'

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(with ANI inputs)

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Published December 13th, 2019 at 17:53 IST

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