The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to put a stay on the Citizenship Amendment Act and granted four weeks’ time to the Central government to file a reply on the petitions regarding the same.
Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot (Photo: Twitter @SachinPilot)
After Punjab and Kerala, Rajasthan is now set to bring a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the assembly, deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said on Thursday. “Everyone has the right to express their dissent. Our government will also bring a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the State Assembly,” Pilot said at a press conference in Jaipur.
So far, Punjab and Kerala governments have passed resolutions against the newly amended citizenship law in their legislative assemblies. Last week, Punjab CM said the Centre will have to make the necessary amendments to CAA if it has to be implemented in Punjab and other states opposing the legislation. Calling CAA a “colourable legislation”, Kerala became the first state to file a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the amended law on January 14, 2020.
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Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to put a stay on the Citizenship Amendment Act and granted four weeks’ time to the Central government to file a reply on the petitions regarding the same. The top court indicated setting up a Constitution Bench to hear the pleas.
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The citizenship law is facing major protests and opposition across the country for giving citizenship on the basis of a person’s religion despite being a secular country according to the constitution. BJP, on the other hand, is also reaching out to the people in a bid to mobilise support for the newly amended citizenship law and “remove misconceptions created by the opposition”.
The CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. However, when clubbed with the National Register of Citizens which asks people to prove their citizenship through certain documents, many citizens especially minorities, poor, and women are feared to lose their citizenship since many do not have the documents.
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