New Delhi: The Centre on Monday carried out the Citizenship (Modification) Act, 2019, notifying the principles 4 years after the contentious legislation was handed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who got here to India earlier than December 31, 2014.
With the disclosing of the principles that got here days forward of the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, the Modi authorities will now begin granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants — Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians — from the three international locations. The foundations comes into power with rapid impact, in response to a Gazette notification.
Union Dwelling Minister Amit Shah stated Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered on one other dedication and realised the promise of the makers of the Structure.
Official sources stated CAA-2019 is a legislation to provide citizenship and won’t take away citizenship of any Indian no matter their faith, including it is just for individuals who have suffered persecution for years and haven’t any different shelter on this planet besides India.
Many misconceptions have been unfold concerning the CAA, they stated.
The CAA secured Parliament’s approval in December 2019 and subsequently acquired the President’s assent however there have been protests in a number of components of the nation towards it, with many opposition events talking out towards the legislation calling it “discriminatory”. Over 100 folks misplaced their lives in the course of the anti-CAA protests or police motion.
“These guidelines will now allow minorities persecuted on spiritual grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to accumulate citizenship in our nation.
“With this notification, PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji has delivered on one other dedication and realised the promise of the makers of our Structure to the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians residing in these international locations,” Minister Shah stated on X.
A Dwelling Ministry spokesperson stated the functions will likely be submitted in a totally on-line mode for which an internet portal has been supplied. The legislation couldn’t come into impact as guidelines had not been notified until now.
Whereas the Congress and different opposition events slammed the federal government’s step, alleging the brand new legislation is designed to polarise the approaching Lok Sabha elections, particularly in West Bengal and Assam, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath referred to as it historic and a “humanitarian resolution”.
Congress basic secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the announcement is one more try to “handle the headlines” after the Supreme Courtroom’s strictures on Monday on the electoral bonds subject.
“After in search of 9 extensions for the notification of the principles, the timing proper earlier than the elections is evidently designed to polarise the elections, particularly in West Bengal and Assam,” he stated.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinaray Vijayan described the CAA as a communally divisive legislation and asserted that it’ll not be carried out within the southern state.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the Centre’s transfer is towards the nation and that it was “soiled politics” of the BJP to make poor folks from neighbouring international locations its vote financial institution in India.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated she would fiercely oppose the CAA if she discovered it to be discriminatory towards teams of individuals residing in India and if it curtailed their present citizenship rights in any method.
The Trinamool Congress supremo was speaking to reporters simply minutes earlier than the CAA guidelines had been formally notified by the Centre, West Bengal’s Matua neighborhood celebrated the implementation of the citizenship legislation on the headquarters of the sect at Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas district, claiming it to be their “second independence day”.
Matuas, initially from East Pakistan, are a weaker part of Hindus who migrated to India in the course of the Partition and after the creation of Bangladesh.
The neighborhood, with an estimated inhabitants of three million within the state, can tilt the scales in favour of a political social gathering in additional than 30 meeting seats in Nadia, and North and South 24 Parganas districts bordering Bangladesh.
Pakistani Hindu refugees, who’ve been residing a lifetime of uncertainty, welcomed the federal government’s step.
A number of the refugees residing in Delhi stated they had been elated and that they “will lastly be referred to as Indian residents”.
Celebrations additionally erupted within the Majnu ka Tilla space the place they principally dwell.
The All Assam College students’ Union (AASU) and 30 indigenous organisations burnt copies of the CAA in numerous components of Assam, together with Guwahati, Barpeta, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Dibrugarh and Tezpur.
The 16-party United Opposition Discussion board, Assam, (UOFA) introduced a statewide hartal on Tuesday, apart from taking over different agitational programmes in a phased method.
“We’ll proceed with our non-violent, peaceable, democratic motion towards CAA. Alongside, we may even proceed our authorized combat,” AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharjya instructed PTI.
Bhattacharjya asserted that the indigenous folks of Assam and North-East won’t ever settle for CAA.
In line with the Guide on Parliamentary Work, the principles for any laws must be framed inside six months of presidential assent or the federal government has to hunt an extension from the Committees on Subordinate Laws in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Since 2020, the Dwelling Ministry has been taking extensions at common intervals from the parliamentary committee for framing the principles.
No doc will likely be sought from the candidates, an official stated.
Safety was stepped up in Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Nagar and different areas of the nationwide capital in addition to in varied states which had earlier witnessed anti-CAA protests.
Underneath the notified guidelines, the Candidates for Indian citizenship should constantly spend a minimum of 12 months in India previous the date of the applying.
The foundations additionally stated that in the course of the eight years instantly previous the stated interval of twelve months, the candidates should spend a minimum of a complete of six years in India to be eligible to get Indian citizenship.
The candidates may even have to provide a declaration that they “irrevocably” surrender the prevailing citizenship and that they wish to make “India a everlasting residence”, it stated.
They should declare that they won’t lay declare on the renounced citizenship in future, it added.
All cleared candidates should take an oath of allegiance affirming that they may “bear true religion and allegiance to the Structure of India” as by legislation established and that they’d “faithfully observe the legal guidelines of India” and “fulfil” their duties as a citizen of India, it stated.
(This report has been printed as a part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Aside from the headline, no modifying has been completed within the copy by ABP Reside.)