Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Sunday said the Congress will follow its high command's directive to not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in states ruled by the party. He was replying to a query in Osmanabad in Maharashtra on the Congress' stand of not implementing CAA in states where it has a government.
"Maharashtra too will follow the decision of the Congress leadership," he said. Earlier in the day, state Home minister Anil Deshmukh and Energy minister Nitin Raut had made similar statements while taking part in an anti-CAA rally in Nagpur.
The Centre had issued a gazette notification announcing that the CAA, under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship, will come into force from January 10. The CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11.
The Congress is one of the constituents in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which also comprises the Shiv Sena and the NCP.