Future tense as Opposition parties say no to CAA,NRC
By Vijaya Pushkarna
When Bihar Chief Minister
and Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar called for a debate on the
controversial Citizenship (Amendment)Act 2019, and declared that he would not
implement the National Register of Citizens in Bihar, it must have been the BJP'
s " et tu, Brute?" moment . His party is an important ally of
the BJP in the NDA government, and the
state goes to polls in September this year.
With Nitish, the number of
chief ministers who have said they will not implement the CAA and the NRC goes
up to over 13. Kerala assembly has passed a resolution to that effect. Punjab Chief Minister Amarender Singh has said he will not put the state government employees on that job.Even the Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of the
BJP is apparently not favorably inclined to it! So much so the Congress has invited
him to defect with his MLAs , drop the lotus and wave his hand -- a Congress
hand , and convert his BJP government into a Congress government!!
Though the CAA and NRC are Central subjects, whether it is elections or census or National Population Register, the Centre cannot accomplish the task without the cooperation of the state governments.
The protest on the streets
is gathering strength, and emboldening political parties to take on the
government. The Centre will soon be faced with a tough choice : either rescind the CAA -- saying anything from sorry
to a convenient, "India is not ready for this today", or face
serious trouble.
It will be far too much to
expect any government, particularly the one helmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and Home Minister Amit Shah, to roll back the discriminatory law under pressure
from the public or the Opposition.The two are indeed made of sterner stuff. Remember, in spite of the nationwide
protests, the government notified the CAA on Jan 10. And when trade
unions were on a Bharat Bandh on Jan 8, protesting against disinvestment and
privatization, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs announced “in
principle” approval to disinvestment in many public sector units.
Shah has been saying they
will not rest until citizenship has been granted along the lines of their law. Modi has twisted the
reasons for the protest, saying no Indian was going to be denied citizenship.
Both have skipped the very basis of the protest-- religion coming into
the path of the citizenship process.
There are two things they
could do.
First, they will
squeeze the states of anti- CAA chief ministers, dry them of funds.
Shashi Tharoor, the Congress leader and MP representing Thiruvanandapuram in
Kerala says the Centre has refused the state funds for flood relief, in spite
of the fact that the tiny coastal state was ravaged by floods like no other.
More such denial of funds on flimsy grounds --but really on account of the
politics of CAA --will expose Modi's " cooperative federalism".
The protests will gather momentum and the Governors could be physically
targeted, leading to even more chaos.
Second, the Centre can
dismiss the state governments citing law and order problems, and impose
President' s rule, and complete the NRC groundwork. It is another matter that
the “hum documents nahin dikhayenge “ (we won’t show our documents) campaign is
spreading like wild fire on social media. This could reduce the exercise to a
farce.
The way out clearly rests
with the Supreme Court which is slated
to take up a clutch of petitions against the CAA . If the apex court pronounces
it unconstitutional, the matter ends there.
That makes the possibility
of scenario one—the Centre denying funds to the states that refuse to implement CAA -- more real.
But can President' s rule go on for ever, till May 2024?
The Constitution allows for
Presidential rule for six months, with an extension of a second six month
period, unless there is an Emergency !
Testing, protesting times
seem to be ahead of us.
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