JAIPUR: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said on Sunday that the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens would not be implemented in his state.
Gehlot thus joined the likes of Mamata Banerjee and BJP allies Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik, who are among those to have rejected the laws. Gehlot’s unequivocal ‘no’ to the two contentious laws have come for the first time but in sync with his Congress counterpart in Punjab, Amarinder Singh, though states like Kamal Nath-led Madhya Pradesh and Bhupinder Singh Baghel-led Chhattisgarh have made it clear, that they would go by the Congress High Command order.
Gehlot’s remarks came on a day when he lead a ‘Save the Constitution’ peace march in Jaipur. Describing the CAA as ‘divisive,’ Gehlot demanded its immediate withdrawal, while urging PM Narendra Modi to abide by the Constitution.
ALSO READ: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot leads march against CAA, NRC in Jaipur, three lakh people join him
Earlier, Gehlot had termed the CAA ‘impractical’ but had not commented whether it would be implemented in Rajasthan, or not.
“I have said it with an open heart that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) & National Register of Citizens (NRC) are not going to be implemented in Rajasthan. Modi ji you should listen, 8- 9 states have said it. Even your partners Bihar CM & Odisha CM, who supported you in Parliament are saying they won’t implement NRC. You should understand public sentiment and announce neither NRC in its current form, nor that CAA will be implemented,” Gehlot said.
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Under strict watch
The peace march began from Albert Hall and made its way to Gandhi Circle amidst tight security of 75,000 police personnel and CCTV cameras.