NEW DELHI: Days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll, the Centre on Monday notified the rules for implementing the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act-2019 (CAA) through a gazette notification.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 18 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules to further amend the Citizenship Rules, 2009. These rules may be called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official gazette,” the notification said.
The law makes it easier for Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to get Indian citizenship. The notification of rules came days after Home Minister Amit Shah said the law would be implemented before the Lok Sabha elections.
It aims to give citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from the above-mentioned countries, who came to India before December 31, 2014.
The implementation of the CAA was an integral part of the BJP’s 2019 Lok Sabha poll manifesto.
Home Ministry sources said the CAA rules would remove legal barriers in providing rehabilitation and citizenship and ensure a dignified life to refugees who had suffered for decades.
They said the citizenship rights would protect their cultural, linguistic and social identity. These would also ensure economic, commercial and property purchase rights, besides free movement.
The sources said many misconceptions had been spread regarding the CAA, clarifying that the law was about giving citizenship and it would not take away the citizenship of any Indian citizen, irrespective of religion.
They said the Act was only for those who had suffered persecution for years and had no shelter in the world except India.
In a post on X, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “The Modi government today notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. These rules will now enable minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to acquire citizenship in our nation”.