CAA rules notified; Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan refugees can get citizenship

Tribune News Service

Animesh Singh

New Delhi, March 11

Days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll, the Centre on Monday notified the rules for implementing the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act-2019 (CAA) through a gazette notification.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 18 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules to further amend the Citizenship Rules, 2009. These rules may be called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official gazette,” the notification said.

The law makes it easier for Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to get Indian citizenship. The notification of rules came days after Home Minister Amit Shah said the law would be implemented before the Lok Sabha elections.

It aims to give citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from the above-mentioned countries, who came to India before December 31, 2014.

The implementation of the CAA was an integral part of the BJP’s 2019 Lok Sabha poll manifesto.

Home Ministry sources said the CAA rules would remove legal barriers in providing rehabilitation and citizenship and ensure a dignified life to refugees who had suffered for decades.

They said the citizenship rights would protect their cultural, linguistic and social identity. These would also ensure economic, commercial and property purchase rights, besides free movement.

The sources said many misconceptions had been spread regarding the CAA, clarifying that the law was about giving citizenship and it would not take away the citizenship of any Indian citizen, irrespective of religion.

They said the Act was only for those who had suffered persecution for years and had no shelter in the world except India.

In a post on X, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “The Modi government today notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. These rules will now enable minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to acquire citizenship in our nation”.

Designed to polarise poll

After seeking nine extensions for the notification of the rules, the timing right before the elections is evidently designed to polarise the elections, especially in West Bengal and Assam. — Jairam Ramesh, Cong Gen Secy

“With this notification, PM @Narendra Modi ji has delivered on another commitment and realised the promise of the makers of our Constitution to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians living in those countries,” he said.

The CAA was passed in December 2019 and subsequently got the President’s assent. However, its passage was followed by nationwide protests, during which over 100 people lost their lives across the country.

The Home Ministry has readied a portal for the convenience of the applicants as the entire process will be online. The applicants will have to declare the year when they entered India without travel documents.

Over 230 pleas against CAA pending in SC

• More than 230 petitions challenging the amendment are pending before the Supreme Court since December 2019
• The top court had on January 22, 2020, refused to stay the operation of the CAA and the National Population Register and said ultimately a five-judge Bench may have to decide the issues
• Acting on a transfer petition by the Central Government, it had restrained all high courts from passing any orders on the CAA

Home Ministry readies portal

• The law makes it easier for Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to get Indian citizenship
• The Home Ministry has readied a portal for the convenience of applicants as the entire process will be online
• An empowered committee will review citizenship applications to ascertain the suitability of the applicants

Punjab among states that opposed law

After the presidential assent to the CAA, several non-BJP states had passed resolutions against the law. Kerala, ruled by the LDF, was the first to pass such a resolution in December 2019 followed by Punjab in January 2020 under the then CM Amarinder Singh, who led a Congress govt

Amendment Bill tabled 8 years ago

• 2016: Bill to amend 1955 Citizenship Act introduced in Parl
• Dec 10, 2019: CAA passed by the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha cleared it a day later
• Dec 21, 2019: CAA Bill received presidential assent
• March 11, 2024: Rules notified to implement the law

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