CAA: MVA Alliance In Maharashtra To Take A Call Soon

Maharashtra Congress leader, Raju Waghmare, asserted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance government led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, was opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and would soon take a call on the controversial Act. He said that the alliance, which is opposed to CAA, would meet soon on this issue and that chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is likely to interact with all stakeholders.

The Congress leader suggested that the Maharashtra assembly could also pass a resolution opposing the implementation of CAA. If the Maharashtra government formally opposes the implementation of CAA, it would join several non-BJP states which have locked horns with the Centre on the matter.

Meanwhile, speaking at a session of the Kerala Literature Festival, Congress leader and senior Supreme Court lawyer, Kapil Sibal pointed out that no state can refuse to implement the CAA, as it is a Central Act. States can oppose the Act by passing a resolution, but refusing to implement it would be problematic, he added.

Sibal observed that saying that CAA would not be implemented would be unconstitutional. Ironically enough, the Congress leader's statement came as an endorsement of the views expressed by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on the subject.

It may be recalled that the Kerala assembly had passed a resolution on December 31, 2019 opposing the CAA, describing the Act as 'unconstitutional'. This was followed by Punjab, which moved a similar resolution in the state assembly on January 17. It is likely that legislatures of other Congress-ruled, as also non-BJP states, would pass similar resolutions on the contentious CAA.