Bengaluru: The Citizenship Amendment Bill is now an act as the President of India has given his assent. It is binding on all states of the Indian Union to implement the act. 

However, as many as five states – West Bengal, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab – have decided not to implement the CAA. 

Interestingly, the common factor in all these states is that they are all non-BJP states. 

But do the states have an option of dishonouring the Act? 

In simple yet robust terms, it is a straightaway ‘no’!

The Indian Parliament has the power to make laws and rules. It is a representative of the Indian citizenry. Moreover, any bill that becomes an act would implicitly be discussed, debated and passed by legislators who are elected by the people of the country. 

Moreover, as per article 256 of the Indian constitution, “Obligation of States and the Union The executive power of every State shall be so exercised as to ensure compliance with the laws made by Parliament and any existing laws which apply in that State, and the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of such directions to a State as may appear to the Government of India to be necessary for that purpose.” 

Shockingly, these leaders, fanned by a negative propaganda by the media, are effectively yet sadly, changing the whole narrative. 

They say that the law is communal and will infuse unnecessary frictions and fissures in the Indian public, especially, Indian Muslims. However, the law doesn’t even apply to Indian Muslims and restricts only those Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh because of India’s understandable inadequacies in providing shelter to all such people. 

What hurts anyone is how a section of the media is so energetic and exuberant is fanning the embers of non-existent communalism in the bill.