So what can the state governments, in reality, do? Here's an explainer.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday notified that state governments actually have no power to refuse the implementation of a central law that is in the Union List, after several states - including, West Bengal, Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh - announced that they will not implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. According to sources, the Act has been listed under the 7th schedule of the constitution and is hence legally applicable to all states.
"Any law that divides the society cannot be accepted. Ours stand on the Act will be the same as that of our party (Congress)," Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said earlier in the day. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, too, said that his stance on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will not be different from what is being taken by the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said the Act could not be imposed on the people under her rule in the state. "Don`t be scared we are with you. As long as we are here nobody can impose anything on you," Banerjee had told a gathering in Kharagpur.
In Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while addressing a press conference, had said that the Act is against the Constitution and has been passed from Parliament to sabotage equality and secularism. "The Central government is trying to divide India into religious lines in accordance with the ideology of (Vinayak Damodar) Savarkar and (former RSS chief MS) Golwalkar. It is against the Constitution. This is part of the move to sabotage equality and secularism," he had told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
Amid tensions in the country over the recent passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in the Parliament, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said on Thursday that his government will not let the Bill be implemented in Punjab. The Chief Minister's Office on Thursday conveyed Singh's statement criticising the Bill, calling it a 'direct assault on the country's secular character'. "Terming the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) as a direct assault on India's secular character, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said his government would not allow the legislation to be implemented in his state," the Chief Minister's Office said.
As far as the other states are concerned, in Maharashtra, state Home Minister Eknath Shinde said that there was no pressure on Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for not implementing the Act. "There is no pressure on the Chief Minister as he is able to make his own decisions. He will discuss with the leaders of the three parties and take a decision in this regard."
The topics listed in the Union List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India are matters in which only the central legislature has the exclusive power to frame laws, which include matters of citizenship of the country.
So what can the state governments, in reality, do? According to political commentators, state governments will not be able to deny the implementation of such an Act, however, since implementation in states of any central law requires the cooperation of the state administration, the most they can do is delay the implementation process or implement it badly, with intentional flaws. However, that would leave them open to be targetted by the central government, which will highlight the flaws or the delay and make a case for a breakdown of state machinery, law and order in the respective states, thereby asking for a President's Rule. Whether the matter goes down the road that far is what remains to be seen.
President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on Thursday, becoming an act of the constitution. The contentious bill was passed in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, two days after it was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with a 125-105 vote share, two days after it was passed in the Lok Sabha following a 12-hour long debate.
125 votes fell in favour of the Bill, while 105 votes were against it. The controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, day after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday midnight.
The Bill aims to provide for Indian citizenship to the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of the current mandatory stay of 11 years even if they do not possess any document.
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 "Photo: PTI")
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