NEW DELHI, 15 May: The first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was issued Wednesday here to 14 people, nearly two months after rules under the contentious law were notified to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from three neighboring countries.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed it a “historic day,” saying the decades-long wait of those who faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan is over.
Home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over the certificates to the 14 people after their applications were processed online through a designated portal, an official spokesperson said.
This comes in the midst of the general elections which started on April 19. The last phase of polling will be held on June 1 while the counting will take place on June 4.
The CAA was enacted in December 2019 for granting Indian nationality to persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.
After the enactment, the CAA got the president’s assent but the rules under which the Indian citizenship was granted were issued on 11 March this year after over a delay of four years.
Home Minister Shah said the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian brothers and sisters who fled religious persecution in the three countries have started getting Indian citizenship and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled the promise made at the time of the country’s independence.
The passing of the CAA in 2019 sparked protests in different parts of the country with agitators terming it “discriminatory.” Over a hundred people lost their lives during the anti-CAA protests or police action in various parts of the country.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been maintaining that no one can stop the implementation of the CAA as it is the law of the land. He accused opposition of misleading the people on the issue. (PTI)
