Rajasthan Mulling Assembly Resolution Opposing CAA

Jaipur: The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan is said to be considering passing a resolution in the State assembly opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The resolution will be passed describing the Act as unconstitutional, in a special session of the state assembly scheduled to be convened on Friday, January 24.

Rajasthan will be the third state after Kerala and Punjab to pass a resolution in the assembly against the contentious Act. Meanwhile, Congress leaders in Maharashtra have also indicated the likelihood of a similar resolution to be passed by the state assembly.

Other Congress-ruled and non-BJP states are also expected to follow suitwidening the chasm between state governments and the Centre on CAA. Most of the states opposing CAA have also decided to stall the proposed National Register for Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).

While legal experts have pointed out that resolutions passed by state assemblies have no constitutional validity, they have also explained that since it is a law passed by the Parliament of India, states would find it difficult to resist its implementation. Legal analysts say that the final pronouncement from the Supreme Court on the issue will decide the matter clearly, although there is no doubt that citizenship in the Constitution, falls under the domain of the Centre. It is a subject cited in the Union list giving exclusive rights to the Central government to enact laws on the matter.