States can't say they won't implement CAA, resolutions 'political': Tharoor

States cannot say they will not implement a new citizenship law and resolutions some legislatures have passed against it are a "political gesture", said Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday.

Tharoor's party colleague Kapil Sibal last week said states cannot deny implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a law passed by Parliament. Sibal later called CAA "unconstitutional", as his statement contradicted the Congress government’s decision in Punjab to pass an Assembly resolution against the law .
Tharoor, MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said that in the implementation of the National Population Register (NPR) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NCR), the states will have a vital part as it will be their officials who will conduct the exercise because the Centre doesn't have the required manpower.
"That's more of a political gesture. The citizenship is given by the federal government only and obviously no states can give citizenship, so it has nothing for them to implement or not implement," Tharoor said about CAA. Read More