Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's bold declaration that the Citizenship Act, 2019, will not be implemented in Kerala is now being hailed like it was his 'Boris Yeltzin moment'.
In 1991, when the Communists staged a coup and took Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev captive, Yeltzin clambered up on one of the military tanks rolling towards the Soviet Parliament and made a speech that virtually quelled the attempted comeback of the Communist old guard.
Pinarayi's Yeltzin-like daredevilry and irreverence is expected to inspire more such state rebellions and at least rattle the BJP dispensation led by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
But there are questions of administration, including security, the chief minister will have to account for. According to the law department, the chief minister's stand is legally unsustainable. It is not as if Pinarayi Vijayan had bothered to get the advice of his law department before taking on the Centre. "It was a political decision taken by the chief minister. We were not consulted," a top law department official told Onmanorama.
"If we were asked for an opinion, the CM knows we would have gone by the book and told him it was not possible for a state to defy an Act passed by the Centre. The chief minister has taken the political stand that the rule in question has violated the fundamental principles of the Constitution and, therefore, has decided not to play by the rules. It is also a fact that no political protest can gain momentum without breaking rules. But we cannot officially give him such an opinion and he knows it," the official added.
Former chief secretary S M Vijayanad said if three chief ministers (Kerala, Bengal and Punjab) had openly defied the act they possibly would have sound reasons for doing so. "The Citizenship Act might have certain provisions that granted states some freedom in the implementation of law," Vijayanand said.
The law department source said it was too early to spot immunity clauses within the new law. "The department was yet to analyse the new law in detail, and it will take time. The chief minister has clearly gone by his instincts," he said.
There is but a limit to the chief minister's adventure. Beyond a point, a state cannot defy a central law. Take for instance the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. Most states, including Kerala, resisted the steep rise in the fines of certain infringements. Some even threatened not to implement it. Then they revised the fines as much as possible but even this has now been struck down by the Centre. Eventually, the states will have no choice but to impose the heavy penalties.
It is virtually impossible for a state to break out of the administrative framework set by the Centre. Take for instance the Malayalam Language (Dissemination and Enrichment) Bill, which wants to make Malayalam the only official language in Kerala. This has been pending with the President since 2015.
There are some who say this is risk-free aggression by Pinarayi Vijayan. "Where is the occasion to implement the law in the state. Over 95 per cent of migrant labourers in the state have valid documents. Even if there are illegal Muslim migrants in Kerala, the state government cannot give them citizenship. That is the sole prerogative of the Centre," said Joseph Pathirakkulam, a human rights activist.
What if the Centre refuses to give them citizenship and brands them illegal under the new act? "Kerala can act defiant and let them stay on. But without any valid identity proof, which is provided by the Centre, how will the state protect them on a sustained basis. Without a proper ID card they cannot open a bank account or even get a place to stay. How will benefits be transferred to them? These are questions the chief minister will have to answer," Pathirakkulam said.
Yet another issue was flagged by a leading CPM leader in North Kerala. "The party has taken a strong stand against Muslim fundamentalism in North Kerala. There is a concern that Muslim extremism is gaining ground in certain parts of Malabar. Now, if we are told that there is a dangerous influx of Rohingya Muslims from Burma into Kerala are we going to roll out the red carpet for them," the CPM leader asked.
In fact, when the Centre warned Kerala of the infiltration of Rohingya Muslims in September 2018, the police unleashed a massive search for what was then described as "people with wheat-complexioned Mongol looks" in express and special trains that came into Kerala from Assam, West Bengal and Chennai.
A few the police could identify as Rohingya Muslims were sent back. "Are we saying from now on we will allow them to use Kerala as a safe haven," the CPM leader asked.
