CAA anti-constitutional, Kerala won't implement it: Chief Minister

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Thursday declared that Kerala will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Addressing the media here, the CM reiterated his government's stance and hinted at plans to approach the Supreme Court again to prevent the central government from implementing the act. On Monday, the central government announced the implementation of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 for granting citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.

Terming the act anti-constitutional, the CM pointed out that it would treat Muslims as second-class citizens.

“ LDF government approached the Supreme Court to confirm that Kerala would not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act.  Kerala is the first state to move a plea against CAA in the Supreme Court. The state will initiate further legal action soon,” said Pinarayi Vijayan. 

“A total of 629 cases against CAA protests were quashed. The government has informed the court that 86 cases out of 206 will be withdrawn,” he added.

He also questioned the central government for ignoring the minority groups in the muslim community.

Pinarayi claimed that CAA poses a challenge to the idea of India and that the contentious legislation grants legal validity to religious discrimination.  The CM also accused the Congress of withdrawing from a united front against the CAA.

In addition, the CM said, the Congress and its national president Mallikarjun Kharge were yet to comment on the recent notification of the CAA rules. He said that the only reaction from the Congress was that by Jairam Ramesh, party general secretary and in-charge of communications, questioning why the rules were hurriedly notified now more than four years after the legislation was passed by the Parliament. Vijayan contended that despite the lack of support from the Congress, the Kerala government will neither bend nor keep silent on the CAA issue.

The CAA was passed in December 2019 and subsequently got the President's assent, but there were protests in several parts of the country against it, with many opposition parties speaking out against the law, calling it "discriminatory".

(with PTI inputs)