The Centre issues the first set of citizenship certificates under CAA to 14 persons.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla distributed the first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) to 14 individuals.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed by Parliament in 2019 and notified in March.
The first batch of citizenship certificates were issued today.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over the certificates.
On Wednesday, 14 persons received their first batch of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), about two months after the rules were declared by the Centre.
Minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are eligible for Indian citizenship under the CAA.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified the rules on March 11, four years after Parliament enacted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019.
On Wednesday, 14 persons received their citizenship certificates after their applications were processed online. The certificates were presented by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
The CAA amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide a fast-track path to Indian citizenship for migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who are Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, or Christian and entered India on or before December 31, 2014, as a result of religious persecution in their home country.
The Act has been the topic of heated debate and significant protests throughout India.
The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government petitioned the Supreme Court in March to block the implementation of CAA, claiming that the restrictions were “against the basic principle, fundamental principles of the Constitution”.
Last month, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram stated that the CAA would be repealed in the first session of Parliament when the INDIA alliance formed the government at the Centre.
The BJP government, under by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has strongly defended the legislation’s implementation.
“These rules will allow minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to obtain citizenship in our country,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted shortly after the CAA was announced.
