Pathanamthitta: BJP National Secretary Anil K Antony responded to Pathanamthitta LDF candidate Thomas Isaac, who stated via social media that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would not be implemented in Kerala. Responding to this, Anil Antony, in a humorous tone, questioned whether Thomas Isaac meant that the Kerala government would block the website created by the Central government for online citizenship applications.
Anil Antony also pointed out that CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are different laws and questioned how a state government could block CAA.
In a social media post X, Thomas Isaac mentioned that Kerala and Tamil Nadu would not implement CAA and asked whether Karnataka and Telangana were ready to take a similar stand. In response, Anil Antony questioned Thomas Isaac, stating that citizenship applications are available on digital platforms of Central government’s website. Anil Antony added that if any person belonging to a minority group from a neighboring country applies for citizenship, how could the Kerala government block it. Anil Antony emphasized that constitutionally, state governments cannot refuse to implement the CAA.
After the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared that they would not allow its implementation in their states. However, several legal experts have stated that constitutionally, states cannot abstain from implementing the CAA, and such efforts are unconstitutional and legally unsustainable.
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