Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come under heavy criticism after he said that since he came to power in 2014, "there has been no discussion on NRC anywhere" and that there were no detention centres in India.
Critics have termed him "a liar" citing that Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai himself had informed the Lok Sabha in November that the state governments have been instructed from time to time, to set up detention centres and that his own Home Minister Amit Shah has talked about the implementation of NRC across the country. In fact, the government has repeated its intention of extending the NRC to other states several times and the party's manifesto too had committed to executing the same in the phased manner.
There have been widespread protests in the country in opposition to the recently passed Citizenship Bill and the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) with the protesters saying that the two combined are against Muslims and are used to strip them of their nationality.
Even as protests continue in the country against NRC and CAA, several chief ministers have come out saying that they will not implement the two in their states. These states include:
Maharashtra
Shiv Sena on Monday said that the Citizenship Act will not be implemented in Maharashtra. CM Uddhav Thackeray assured a delegation of Muslim leaders in a meeting that the community has nothing to fear in the state, reported India Today.
"Maharashtra has always believed in secular ideology. The state has never been divided on caste or religion lines. Even today Maharashtra stands with the righteous, even in this save the Constitution movement. CAA and NRC hurt the soul of this country. We will not let BJP get away with this. In Maharashtra, CAA and NRC will not be implemented," said Maharashtra minister Balasaheb Throat on Monday.
Citizenship amendment act is divisive in nature. We will not implement it in Maharashtra#CAA #NRC#SatyagrahaForUnity pic.twitter.com/3h40m3XG7I
— Balasaheb Thorat (@bb_thorat) December 23, 2019
Shiv Sena had voted in favour of CAA in Lok Sabha but had later withdrawn its support when the bill was taken up in Rajya Sabha.
Kerala
Kerala is one of the first states that refused to implement the Citizenship Act terming it “unconstitutional”. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said that Kerala would not engage into any kind of “discrimination” on the basis of religion.
“In Kerala, nobody has to feel any apprehension in this regard. We will not implement the lopsided law which is meant to divide people,” he had said while addressing a press conference.
"The spirit of our Constitution is based on secularism and Modi government is trying to undermine secular characteristics of our Constitution by passing the bill. The CAB will divide the nation on the basis of religion and caste," the CM said.
Punjab
Terming the Citizenship Act as a direct assault on Indian's secular character, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said that his government would not allow the legislation to be implemented in the state.
His government, on its part, would not let the legislation rip apart the secular fabric of the country, whose strength lies in its diversity, said the Chief Minister, a day after the controversial bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha.
The Parliament had no authority to pass a law that defiled the Constitution and violated its basic principles and fundamental rights of the people of India, said the Chief Minister.
"How can you leave out a large section of the Indian population from the protection they have been getting since we declared India a "sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens justice, equality and liberty?", asked Amarinder Singh, pointing out that by linking citizenship with religion, the CAA would hit at the very foundation of the nation.
Rajasthan
Rajasthan Chief Minister last Friday said that the state will not implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
"I have said several times that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and NRC cannot be implemented across the country because they are not practical. Despite the resistance and suggestion by opposition parties, CAB became an act but why students and youths of all communities have come on roads ?" Gehlot tweeted.
"This (act) has shocked all communities including Hindus and Muslims. This Act is disturbing for all," he said, while demanding from the Centre to repeal the Act.
West Bengal
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee too said that her government would not allow any NRC exercise or implementation of the Citizenship Act in the state.
"We told them not to play with fire. They say they will forcibly implement CAA and NRC. I would like to state categorically again that NRC and CAA won't be implemented in West Bengal," the CM said.
"You can pass a law, but it is up to the state government to implement it. How can they enforce it?" she asked.
Bihar
JD(U), a BJP ally, too, has refused to implement NRC. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday came out against the NRC saying that it will not be implemented at any cost. His statement is significant as the party had supported the CAA in both the houses of parliament.
“Kaahe Ko NRC Lagu Hoga? Bilkul Nahin Lagu Hoga (Why should NRC be implemented? It will not be done at all),” Kumar told media persons, as mentioned in a TOI report.
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath too indicated his intention of not allowing implementation of the Citizenship Act in his state. He had said that the state government would stand with Congress on the matter.
“Whatever stand the Congress party has taken on the Citizenship Amendment Act, we will follow that. Do we want to be a part of a process that sows seeds of divisiveness?” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Odisha
While BJD voted in support of CAA in the parliament, it is against the implementation of NRC across India.
“The Citizenship Amendment Act has nothing to do with Indian citizens, it only deals with foreigners. The Biju Janata Dal MPs, both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, had made it clear that we do not support NRC. I would like to appeal to our citizens to let peace prevails and not to indulge in rumour-mongering,” Naveen Patnaik told media, as mentioned in an ET report.
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday said that his government too is not in support of the implementation of NRC, reported India Today. His party, however, had voted in favour of CAA in the parliament.
The deputy CM of the state has assured the Muslim community that the NRC will not be implemented in the state, the report added.
(Inputs from agencies)
First Published: Dec 24, 2019 1:38 PM IST
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