6 more months needed to frame CAA rules, MHA informs Parliament

New Delhi, Jul 27
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed Parliament on Tuesday that it has sought six more months to frame rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA. The MHA said it has asked committees on subordinate legislation in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha time till January 9, 2022.
Replying to a question posed by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that the CAA has been notified on December 12, 2019 and has come into force from January 10, 2020.
"The Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been requested to grant further extension of time upto 09.01.2022 to frame the rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019," Rai further said in his reply.
The CAA allows persecuted minorities belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to avail Indian citizenship.
People belonging to these communities who arrived in India till December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in these three countries will not be treated as illegal migrants but will be provided with Indian citizenship, according to the provisions of the Act.
In case a person belong to the aforementioned faiths, from these three countries, does not have proof of birth of parents, they can apply for Indian citizenship after six years of residence in India.
President of India Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the legislation on December 12, 2019.
Opposition parties and several groups have protested against the implementation of CAA. CAA’s detractors believe that the law coupled with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise is intended to target the minorities living in India.
Hindustan Times