‘If something’s on statute book, you have to obey’: Salman Khurshid backs Kapil Sibal’s CAA remark

Khurshid said that if the Supreme Court doesn’t interfere in the matter, the CAA will remain on the statute book and there will be consequences if not obeyed.

Updated: Sun, 19 Jan 2020 11:10 AM IST

‘If something’s on statute book, you have to obey’: Salman Khurshid backs Kapil Sibal’s CAA remark

New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: A day after former Union Minister Kapil Sibal said that there is no way a state can deny the implementation of the act when it is already passed by the Parliament, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid also echoed his remarks.

The former Union Minister said that if the Supreme Court doesn’t interfere in the matter, the CAA will remain on the statute book and there will be consequences if not obeyed.

“It's a matter where state governments have a very serious difference of opinion with centre as far as this law is concerned. So we would wait for final pronouncement made by the Supreme Court. Ultimately the Supreme Court will decide and till then everything said, done and not done is provisional and tentative,” Khurshid, quoted by news agency ANI, said.

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The remarks from Khurshid comes at a time when many states across India, including Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra, have vehemently opposed the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).

Earlier on Saturday, former Union Minister Kapil also said that it would be difficult for states to oppose the implementation of the Citizenship Act.

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Participating in the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) at Kozhikode on Saturday, Sibal said that claimed that opposing the Citizenship Act by would be ‘unconstitutional’.

“If the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is passed no state can say I will not implement it. It is not possible and is unconstitutional. You can oppose it, you can pass a resolution in the Assembly and ask the central government to withdraw it,” Sibal had said.

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“But constitutionally saying that I won't implement it is going to be problematic and going to create more difficulties,” he added.

Earlier this week, the Kerala government moved the Supreme Court against the CAA, seeking to declare it “violative of the principles of equality, freedom and secularism enshrined in the Constitution”.

It was the first state government to challenge the act and the Kerala Assembly was the first to pass a resolution against the law. Following in the southern state's footsteps, the Punjab Assembly on Friday passed a resolution demanding to scrap the contentious law.