Editor,
States have no power to say no to or defy a central law enacted in the Parliament which now comes under the 7th Schedule of the Constitution. No state government is empowered to deny or halt its implementation. Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 is one such central law. Granting of Citizenship is the prerogative of the Central Government. Majority of lawyers have cited constitutional provisions to stress that any move by a state to disregard a parliamentary enactment may lead to the dismissal of its government. The governor can recommend President’s Rule under Article 356, advising that the state cannot be run in keeping with the provisions of the Constitution.
However, safeguards do exist in the law to insulate state governments against arbitrary dismissal. In its landmark 1994 order in S.R. Bommai vs Union of India, the Supreme Court had studied Article 356 in detail and laid down restrictions on its capricious and malicious use by central governments. The dismissal of the EMS. Namboodiripad government in Kerala remains an indelible blemish on the record of Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister. The Indira Gandhi government unwittingly made NT Rama Rao a national figure by dismissing his government when he was in the US and had to reinstate the actor-turned-leader.
Again Article 249 empowers Parliament to make laws even on state subjects in the national interest. Under Articles 251 and 254, the Centre is to prevail over the states in the event of any inconsistency between central and state legislation. Under the provisions of Articles 256 and 257 of the Constitution, it would be legally impossible for a state government to defy the Centre.
The States do not have any discretion or liberty not to follow laws which are being promulgated by Parliament for the country. Citizenship is an issue on which the central government alone has the power to enact a law. The states can at best delay the implementation of laws enacted in Parliament. At the same time the Centre can, besides imposing President’s rule , stop all grants and financial doles to the state.
It is presumed that the Chief Ministers of the states, being elected representatives of people, who are vehemently opposed to implementing CAA with a lot of hullabaloo and encouraging vandalism at the cost of rampant destruction of public property are well aware of the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
Yours etc.,
Samares Bandyopadhyay
Advocate, Kolkata High Court
Of Indian Muslims
Editor
Ever since the idea of CAB/CAA was conceptualized, I had an uneasy feeling deep inside me. I read many articles, write-ups and letters to the editor appearing in your esteemed daily to find a logical answer as to why “SECULARISM” which is enshrined in our Constitution has to be compromised by our ruling dispensation at the center, in their pursuit to enact the CAA.
Finally, to my great delight on Dec 24, 2019 in the third page of your daily (ST) my eye fell on the inescapable bold lettered clarification of the GOI. In clarifying many things, the clarification gave birth to the new term ‘INDIAN MUSLIMS’. Thus, it is settled now that Indian Muslims are a class by themselves. The coinage of this expression should have given great solace and soothing effect to the mind of our brethren living in India.
Yours etc.,
Krishna Chettri,
Via email
Severe winter takes a toll
Editor,
With a chilly Christmas for the people of the national capital and most of the North Indian states, December is turning out to be the coldest in the last 22 years and the worst is yet to come. The Indian Meteorological Department has warned that Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Bihar are expected to experience cold wave conditions over the next 3-4 days.
According to the IMD forecast, over the next three-four days the mercury is likely to drop to 4 degrees Celsius and the weather conditions will also impact southern India. Due to low-level cloud cover, the winds would continue to blow from northwest direction following which cold day conditions would intensify and to prevail over northern parts of India till December 29. As is being experienced, the night temperatures have been hitting lower degrees for the last many days now.
The minimum temperature across Kashmir and Ladakh remained several degrees below the freezing point on Wednesday owing to clear sky. Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far, as the minimum temperature settled at minus 4.3 degrees Celsius during the night leading to freezing of water supply lines at several places. The night temperature at Pahalgam resort, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 11.4 degrees Celsius. However, northeast India is yet to receive colder conditions though temperatures have already gone down to freeze the people.
It is a fact that India has very tall mountains of about 6000 meters in height. The Himalayas prevent the cold winds from central Asia from entering India. It is due to this reason that India has a milder winter as compared to central Asia. But at the same time, India has unique wind and pressure conditions. During winter, northern areas near the Himalayas have high pressure. Therefore, winds from this region blow to the south where the pressure is lower. The regions along the Himalayas in the Indian territories receive colder weather during the winter season and the temperature often going down to minus degrees. As the cold wave continues to prevail over the Indian sub-continent plummeting the temperature down to minus, people are left high and dry. Many die due to cold conditions during the winter.
Delhi is the city where most number of people die due to the bitter cold. The homeless are forced to take refuge in night shelters. Last year alone in Delhi more than 100 people died from cold weather conditions. Not just Delhi, but neighbouring Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurugram are also under the grip of a severe cold wave. The Government must provide more night shelters and other facilities to the homeless taking into account of the prevailing colder weather in Delhi and other parts of the country. Free supply of blankets and other warm –inducing dresses, logs for burning the ‘inner furnace’ in the houses, and supply of hot soups for homeless people will surely avert more human casualties from severe cold.
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Via email