Parliament’s power in making law, not state legislature; cites Ravi Shankar Prasad on Kerala scrapping CAA

New Delhi, January 1: “Parliament has more powers to pass any law regarding citizenship and not state legislatures, including Kerala assembly,” asserted Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hours after Kerala Assembly passed a resolution seeking scrapping the Citizenship Amendment Act. The union minister added that CAA did not relate to Indian citizens and that it neither creates or takes away any citizenship.

 

Addressing a press conference, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “It is only the Parliament which has got the powers to pass any law with regard to citizenship; not any assembly, including Kerala Assembly.” Adding further, he recalled late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi's decision to provide citizenship to minorities from Sri Lanka Tamils and Uganda, he wondered why it was okay for Congress and not when PM Modi and Union Amit Shah did the same.

Strongly placing facts, Ravi Shankar Prasad defended the CAA, which has triggered protests since it was amended by the Parliament. “This is double standards and hypocrisy of the worst order,” he said. “The CAA does not relate to any Indian citizens. It neither creates citizenship nor takes away citizenship of Indians. It is only applicable to persecuted minorities,” the minister added. The Union Minister mentioned that CAA was constitutional and legal adding 'disinformation campaign' was being done against it by vested interests.

On the National Population Register (NPR), which too has come in for the opposition from several quarters including Kerala government, he said it is a compendium of the usual residents of India and it has got nothing to with citizens. NPR data we used for development and policymaking purposes by central and state government, he said.