Government begins awarding citizenship in West Bengal, Haryana, and Uttarakhand under the CAA
The decision follows weeks after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that her government would block the implementation of the CAA in the state.
CAA Citizenship Begins in Bengal, Haryana, Uttarakhand
According to the Home Ministry, the Union government has began awarding citizenship under the CAA in West Bengal, Haryana, and Uttarakhand.
The State Empowered Committee of each of the three states granted citizenship to the applicants on Wednesday, according to a statement released by the ministry.
On May 15, the Union Home Secretary presented the first batch of citizenship certificates to the applicants in New Delhi following the notice of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, issued by the Empowered Committee, Delhi.
The Act, which was approved by the Parliament in December 2019, was set to go into effect on March 11 after the MHA published the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024.
In order to offer Indian status to persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014, the Citizenship by Acceptance Act (CAA) was passed in December 2019.
The president gave his consent to the CAA after it was enacted, but it took more than four years for the regulations that conferred Indian citizenship to be released. This occurred on March 11.
The Rules give an empowered committee led by a Director, Census Operations, the final say over citizenship decisions. A district-level committee (DLC) chaired by representatives of the postal department reviewed applications submitted online at indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in.
As per the regulations, candidates are need to submit one of nine designated documents that demonstrate their ancestry from Bangladesh, Pakistan, or Afghanistan. After the documents were successfully verified, the DLCs gave the applicants the oath of allegiance. It is reported that the portal has already received over 25,000 applications.
Chief Minister of the State Mamata Banerjee has opposed the CAA, arguing that it is communal and discriminatory, despite the fact that it may benefit almost 2.5 crore members of the Matua and Namasudra communities in West Bengal.
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