The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will notify the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 regulations prior to the Election Commission enforcing the model code of conduct (MCC), according to sources. There is a possibility that the code of conduct might be in place in March, sources told The Daily Guardian.
The CAA rules, introduced by the Central government, aim to confer Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
Following the passage of the CAA by Parliament in December 2019 and its subsequent Presidential assent, significant protests had erupted in various parts of the country.
The implementation of the CAA, which has been delayed for over four years, necessitates the formulation of its associated rules.
“The regulations are prepared, and an online portal is already set up for the entire process, which will be conducted digitally. Applicants will need to disclose the year of their entry into India without any travel documents. No additional documentation will be required from the applicants,” stated an official.
As per the manual of parliamentary procedures, the guidelines for any legislation should have been formulated within six months of receiving the Presidential assent, or the government should have sought an extension from the Committees on Subordinate Legislation in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Since 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs has been regularly seeking extensions from the parliamentary committees to continue the process of framing the rules associated with the legislation.
Over a hundred individuals lost their lives either during the protests or due to police action subsequent to the passage of the law in Parliament.
During the past two years, over 30 district magistrates and home secretaries across nine states have been authorized with the ability to confer Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians arriving from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan under the Citizenship Act of 1955.
As per the Ministry of Home Affairs’ annual report for 2021-22, between April 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021, a cumulative count of 1,414 individuals from non-Muslim minority communities originating from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan were granted Indian citizenship through registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Under the Citizenship Act of 1955, Indian citizenship by registration or naturalization is granted to non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in nine states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra.
On December 27, Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the Central government will enforce the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and no one can hinder it.
Speaking at a large rally in Kolkata to kickstart the BJP’s Lok Sabha campaign, Shah launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding issues such as appeasement, infiltration, corruption, and political violence, alleging that she has “ruined” the state.
Banerjee’s opposition to the CAA is due to her support for infiltration, Shah asserted, adding that a state with such significant infiltration cannot progress. He had urged the people to oust her government by electing the BJP in the next assembly polls in 2026 and laid the foundation by supporting the party in the Lok Sabha elections.
He had said, “Give so many seats to the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls that Modi ji says I have become PM due to Bengal.” Shah claimed that the BJP’s performance in the 2024 LS polls will create the foundation for its victory in the assembly polls.