Tamil Nadu government will not implement CAA, says CM Stalin

Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday announced that the Tamil Nadu government won’t implement the “divisive” Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the state as it was against allowing any legislation that is “against the unity” of India.

In a statement, Stalin said the CAA didn’t take into consideration the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils who are living in camps across the state and alleged that the rules that were notified by the Union Home Ministry on March 11 was against basic tenets of the Constitution of India.

The Chief Minister recalled that the DMK government, after coming to power in May 2021, had passed a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly urging the Union government to “rescind” the CAA since it was against the country’s unity.

“The Act which is aimed at creating differences between the people will bring no good to them. The Tamil Nadu government believes this Act is unnecessary and it should be rescinded. The Tamil Nadu government will not allow the Act to be implemented in the state,” Stalin said.

“The Tamil Nadu government will not allow the implementation of any Act that is against the unity of India,” the Chief Minister added. The statement comes a day after Stalin alleged that CAA was an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “salvage his sinking ship” by exploiting religious sentiments for political gains.

He added that the people of the country will never forgive the BJP for unleashing this “divisive Citizenship Amendment Act and their spineless lackeys, the AIADMK, which shamelessly supported it.”

Stalin’s statement was met with stiff opposition from the BJP, with its state chief K Annamalai saying the state government has no option but to implement a law passed by Parliament.

“The Indian Constitution says only the Union Government has powers to grant Citizenship. The state has no role in this, and the Chief Minister should understand this. He cannot stop the implementation of the Act. By saying so, he is going against the oath he took while he was sworn in as Chief Minister,” Annamalai said.

Accusing Stalin and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami of “misleading” the people of Tamil Nadu on the issue of CAA, Annamalai said the Chief Minister can criticise the Act politically but cannot say he won’t implement it because he doesn’t have powers to do so.