The Ministry of Home Affairs handed over citizenship certificates to 14 people under the Citizenship Amendment Act, on Wednesday. The law was passed by the parliament in 2019. The BJP-led Central government, however, notified the CAA rules in March this year.
In its Lok Sabha elections manifesto, the BJP promised that it would grant citizenship to eligible applicants under the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over the documents to some applicants in the national capital.
“The first set of citizenship certificates after notification of Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 were issued today. Union Home Secretary Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over citizenship certificates to some applicants in New Delhi today. The Home Secretary congratulated the applicants and highlighted salient features of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. Secretary Posts, Director (IB), Registrar General of India and senior officers were also present during the interactive session,” the home ministry said in a statement today.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was notified by the Central government on March 11, weeks before the commencement of the Lok Sabha elections.
The CAA rules authorise the District Level Committee (DLC) to accept applications of eligible people for Indian citizenship. They further empower the State Level Empowered Committee to scrutinise the applications ahead of granting citizenship.
According to the ministry’s statements, since December 13, 2014, individuals from the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who were persecuted for their religious beliefs and fled to India have been submitting applications to the authorities.
It went on to state that following document verification, the applicants were given an oath of allegiance by the appointed officers chairing the DLCs.
“After processing as per rules, DLCs have forwarded the applications to the State Level Empowered Committee headed by the Director (Census operation). Processing of applications is completely done through the online portal The Empowered Committee, Delhi headed by Director (Census Operation), Delhi, after due scrutiny, have decided to grant citizenship to 14 applicants,” the central government added.
Various opposition leaders, such as Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala and Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, have sworn they will not carry out the law. The countrywide implementation of the law has been pledged by both Union Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The opposition argues that the CAA is unconstitutional and discriminates against Muslims. The BJP asserts that the bill is not intended to strip Muslims of their citizenship and charges the Opposition of deceiving Muslims in order to win votes.