CAA rules anticipated before Lok Sabha polls: Sources

New Delhi, January 03: The Central government, according to a senior official, gears up to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 rules "much before" the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. An insider revealed to news agency PTI that the government is fully prepared with the CAA rules, aiming to enable the granting of Indian citizenship to eligible migrants.

Enacted four years ago by the Narendra Modi-led union government, the CAA regulations aim to offer Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered India till December 31, 2014 - including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians. The official highlighted that the rules' notification is expected well in advance of the general elections. The process is set to be entirely online, requiring applicants to declare their entry year into India without travel documents, without the necessity of submitting additional documents.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated last month that the implementation of the CAA cannot be obstructed, emphasising its status as a lawful mandate.

During an address in Kolkata, Shah reaffirmed the BJP's commitment to enforcing the CAA, accusing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misleading the public on the issue, as she has consistently opposed the law since its inception. The pledge to execute the long-awaited CAA constituted a significant electoral promise for the BJP during the preceding Lok Sabha elections.

Since 2020, the home ministry has been seeking extensions from parliamentary committees to frame the legislation's associated rules.

The bill's passage sparked nationwide protests, with dissenters opposing the exclusion of Muslim migrants from its provisions. Critics labeled the bill "discriminatory" and an assault on India's secularism. The demonstrations resulted in casualties, either during the protests or through police intervention.

Critics argued that the government's exclusion of Muslim migrants was founded on the presumption that Muslims couldn't face persecution if they were the majority in their home countries, which neglects communities like the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan or Hazaras in Afghanistan, who endure religious persecution.

As per the Ministry of Home Affairs' annual report for 2021-22, a total of 1,414 individuals from non-Muslim minority communities in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan were granted Indian nationality through registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act, 1955, from April 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021.

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Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation is provided under the 1955 Act to non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in specific states, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra.

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(Inputs from agencies) 

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