NE Watch Desk
The Central Government led by PM Narendra
Modi is ready with the Rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA. The
President had approved it on December 12 after the Lok Sabha and the Rajya
Sabha had cleared the Bill on December 9 and 11 in 2019 respectively.
The Bill aims to fast-track Indian
citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Sikhs and Christians, who faced
religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh had migrated to Bharat
on or before December 31, 2014, said a government official.
The government’s strategic move to notify
the CAA rules much ahead of the Lok Sabha polls announcement underlines its commitment
to enacting the law and facilitating the naturalization process for those
affected.
So far, the exact date for the
notification of these rules is still unknown, but the government official has
indicated that it will be a priority in the coming days.
The government will soon make the process
hassle free and functional for granting Indian citizenship to eligible applicants.
Subsequently, it has set up an online portal for expediting application process.
No additional documentation is required.
However, the individual is required to mention
date and year of their migration and that they entered Bharat without proper
travel documents.
The move by the Centre had led to protests
in many parts of Bharat, particularly in Assam and Tripura. Demonstrators from
these States feared that the rule would change the demographics forever.
In Assam, the CAA is perceived as a
violation of the 1985 Assam Accord which permits foreign migrants, who entered Assam
after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 to seek citizenship.
Under the CAA, the cut-off date for
citizenship to be extended is December 31, 2014.
