The Indian government on Monday (March 11, 2024) notified the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The notification paves the way for granting Indian Citizenship to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities on grounds of religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
In a post on X, the Home Ministry said, “These rules, called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 will enable the persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for grant of Indian citizenship.”
“The applications will be submitted in a completely online mode for which a web portal has been provided,” it said.
What is the CAA Act?
The Parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in December 2019.
“Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, will give a new ray of hope to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have migrated to India after facing persecution on the ground of religion in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh,” Home Minister Amit Shah had said as he piloted the legislation for passing in the Parliament.
Shah reiterated that the Bill is not against any minority in India and that the rights of each Indian Citizen will be equally protected.
He said that the Narendra Modi government is committed to protecting the rights of each citizen of the country.
The ruling BJP leaders and even some ministers had been dropping hints about the implementation of CAA before the Lok Sabha elections.
There has been reservation against the CAA among certain sections of society.
Given the controversy surrounding it, the government allegedly delayed the implementation by not notifying the rules.
It may be noted that a section of certain communities had earlier come out in protest against the CAA in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh and some other parts of the country as well.
Congress targets Centre over CAA implementation
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh slammed the Centre over the implementation of CAA and posted on X: “It has taken four years and three months for the Modi Government to notify the rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act that was passed by the Parliament in December 2019. The Prime Minister claims that his Government works in a business-like and time-bound manner. The time taken to notify the rules for the CAA is yet another demonstration of the Prime Minister’s blatant lies.”