Citizenship Amendment Act issue: Rajasthan Speaker takes on CM

Jaipur: Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi has complicated matters for the state's Congress government, and set up a potential clash with CM Ashok Gehlot, after making comments that appear to contradict the latter's position on the citizenship law.

Joshi said the State could not oppose implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act because citizenship itself is a central subject. "Under the Constitution, citizenship is a subject of the Centre and not of the State.

The (state) governments will have to implement it as they can legislate only on certain matters... citizenship is a central subject and states can (at most) legislate on subjects on the concurrent list," Joshi, a senior Congress leader and former Union Minister, said.

Joshi's statement was swiftly welcomed by Rajasthan BJP President Satish Poonia, who told news agency ANI that he "congratulate(d) CP Joshi-ji" for supporting the CAA.

CP Joshi, who presided over the Assembly session in which the resolution was passed, isn't the first Congress leader to cast doubts over non-BJP states' ability to oppose the citizenship law.

Last month Kapil Sibal, speaking on the sidelines of a literary summit in Kerala, said: "Constitutionally, it would be difficult for any government to say that 'I will not follow a law passed by parliament'".

Sibal subsequently clarified his comment, calling the CAA "unconstitutional" and saying every state had the right to pass a resolution and seek its withdrawal.

In response to Sibal's statement (and others like it), Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said states had the right to disagree over implementation of the citizenship law and could not be "forced" to implement it.

Last month Rajasthan became the third state, after Kerala and Punjab, to pass a resolution against the CAA, a controversial law that has triggered widespread protests and been fiercely criticised by a number of opposition leaders, including Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Chief Minister Gehlot, one of the Congress's more outspoken anti-CAA voices, has repeatedly declared his government will not implement the law, as it violates basic principles of the Constitution and allows the BJP to "divide the country on religious lines".