The implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, (CAA) paves the way for citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, allowing the Modi government to now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians -- from the three countries.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government on Monday made the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, a reality by notifying rules for it, a move that came four years after the contentious law was passed in Parliament. and paves the way for citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The implementation of CAA paves the way for citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, allowing the Modi government to now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians -- from the three countries.
Implementing the controversial CAA, rules of which were notified days ahead of the expected announcement of the Lok Sabha election 2024 dates, was a major poll promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last Lok Sabha. The passage of CAA in Parliament in December 2019 had sparked massive protests in parts of the country.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "delivered on another commitment and realised the promise of the makers of the Constitution."
Meanwhile, in view of the contentious past attached to the CAA, security has been tightened in parts of the country to avoid any untoward situation and, as police say, "prevent provocative posts and rumours."
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday dismissed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as 'divisive and bereft of any use' and said that it will not be implemented in the state. Slamming the BJP-led central government for notifying the rules for implementing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 'in a haste' when the Lok Sabha polls are round the corner, CM Stalin said the CAA and its rules went against the basic structure of the Constitution.
"There is not going to be any use or benefits due to the CAA, which only paves the way for creating divisions among the Indian people. The stand of the government is that this law is completely unwarranted; it is one that must be repealed," news agency PTI quoted lines from an official release.
"The Tamil Nadu government will not give any opportunity in any manner to implement the CAA in Tamil Nadu," CM Stalin said in the official release.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday announced the launch of a new portal - https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in - through which persons eligible under CAA-2019 can apply for citizenship.
The MHA said a mobile app 'CAA-2019' will also be launched shortly to facilitate applications through mobile app.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court, challenging the implementation of CAA by the Centre. IUML demanded that the impugned statute and regulations be stayed, and that no coercive steps be taken against persons belonging to Muslim community who have been deprived of the benefit of this law.
“Since the CAA is discriminates on the basis of religion, it strikes at the root of secularism, which is the basic structure of the Constitution... India’s constitutional framework, read with obligations under the international law, mandates a framework of refugee protection that is non-discriminatory,” a Hindustan Times report quoted lines from the stated the plea filed by IUML.
Security was tightened in several parts of Delhi with paramilitary personnel conducting night patrols and flag marches in the northeastern parts of the city, Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Nagar and other sensitive areas after the Centre implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
The CAA bill was passed in Parliament on December 11, 2019, leading to protests across the country, including Delhi which witnessed months-long anti-CAA protests in 2019-2020 with Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh being the epicentres of the stir. In early 2020, the city witnessed communal riots in its northeastern parts over the issue in which 53 people were killed and over 500 injured.
After the Centre implemented the CAA on Monday, notifying the rules four years after the contentious law was passed, police in Delhi's northeast district identified 43 hotspots and conducted patrols there.
An advisory was issued by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in view of the ongoing students' election process and also in the backdrop of the implementation of the contentious CAA, which had sparked protests in the national capital's university campuses, including Jamia Millia Islamia, back in 2019 after it was passed in Parliament.
Hours after the Centre implemented CAA on Monday, JNU issued an advisory for its students, asking them to remain vigilant and maintain peace and harmony on the campus in view of the ongoing students' election process.
Those seeking Indian nationality under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, will become eligible to apply after spending at least 12 months in India preceding the date of the application, according to the CAA rules notified on Monday.
Further, during the eight years immediately preceding the 12 months, the applicants will have to spend not less than six years in the country to be eligible to get the India citizenship, the CAA rules said.
The applicants will also have to give a declaration that they "irrevocably" renounce the existing citizenship and that they want to make make "India as permanent home", according to the rules.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees who had sought shelter in India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in three neighbouring countries -- Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bangladesh. The six persecuted communities are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 will not take away citizenship of any Indian irrespective of their religion, a news agency PTI report cited sources as saying.
The citizenship rights will protect their cultural, linguistic, and social identity and it will also ensure economic, commercial, free movement, and property purchase rights.
The law will remove legal barriers to rehabilitation, and according citizenship will give a dignified life to the refugees who have suffered for decades, the above mentioned sources said, adding that many misconceptions have been spread regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act.
This is a law to give citizenship and not take away citizenship of any Indian irrespective of their religion, the official said and added the act is only for those who have suffered persecution for years and have no other shelter in the world except India.