Kerala CM doubles down on CAA after Amit Shah's 'no choice' comment, asks why Rahul Gandhi silent

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday reiterated that Kerala will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 and questioned the silence of the Congress on the issue. His party is an ally of the Congress in the INDIA bloc but Vijayan criticised the stand Congress has taken after the CAA was notified as Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge have not yet spoken on this issue. Vijayan said Kerala will neither bow down nor keep silent over CAA. The statement came after Union home minister Amit Shah clarified that the states do not have any choice in CAA implementation as citizenship is a central subject.

The Congress-led UDF on Thursday said Vijayan was fooling the people of India as it will be applicable everywhere in India. Vijayan accused the Congress of withdrawing from a united front against the CAA.

Vijayan said CAA poses a challenge to the idea of India and grants validity to religious discrimination.

The CAA was notified on Monday triggering a massive resistance led by opposition leaders -- West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

In an interview with news agency ANI, Amit Shah said the CAA has been brought by the Modi government and it is impossible to repeal it. "Do you have the right that you can refuse its implementation? They also understand that they do not have the rights. In our Constitution, the right to make laws concerning citizenship has been given only to Parliament. This is a Central subject, not the state's, both the law and its implementation," Amit Shah said.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian refugees who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh and sought shelter in India before December 31, 2014.

As CAA was notified on March 11, Vijayan issued a statement condemning it. "Kerala's was the first Legislative Assembly to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The Government of Kerala had announced that the NPR will not be implemented in the state. A suit was filed in the Supreme Court against the Central Government, citing the unconstitutionality of the CAA...the LDF government has repeated several times that the CAA which treats Muslim minorities as second class citizens, will not be implemented in Kerala. We reiterate that position. Kerala will stand united in opposing this communal and divisive law," the statement read.