CAA rules ban, Center opens equal citizenship window in five states

With the Center yet to formulate rules under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, it issued a gazette notification on Friday to officials in 13 districts of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab to accept, verify and approve citizenship. Powers conferred under existing rules for. Applications from members of minority communities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The notification listed Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians as communities that would be covered, and stated that applications would have to be submitted online. Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the order has been issued under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship Rules, 2009 and not under the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, as its rules have not yet been framed, Home Ministry sources said. A similar notification was also issued in 2018 for other districts of several states.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the Central Government hereby directs that for registration as a citizen of India under section 5, or for the grant of a certificate Powers exercised by. Under section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, in relation to any person belonging to a minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians… in whose jurisdiction the applicant is ordinarily resident. , ”The notification states. The districts listed in the notification are: Morbi, Rajkot, Patan and Vadodara (Gujarat); Durg and Balodabazar (Chhattisgarh); Jalore, Udaipur, Pali, Barmer and Sirohi (Rajasthan); Faridabad (Haryana); And, Jalandhar (Punjab). It also gave equal rights to the Home Secretaries of Haryana and Punjab, excluding Faridabad and Jalandhar. “The verification of the application is done simultaneously by the Collector or Secretary, as the case may be, at the district level and state level and the application and its report will be made available simultaneously to the Central Government on the online portal,” the order said. “The Collector or Secretary, as the case may be, on being satisfied with the suitability of the applicant, grants him citizenship of India by registration or naturalization.

And issues a certificate of registration or naturalization, as the case may be, from the online portal duly printed and signed by the Collector or Secretary, as the case may be, in the form prescribed in the said rules, “the notification stated. It has asked the Collector and Secretary to maintain an online as well as physical register which details the person registered or naturalized as a citizen of India and submit a copy to the Central Government within seven days of registration or naturalization. In 2018, the government granted equal rights to collectors and home secretaries of states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in relation to certain districts. In December 2019, Parliament introduced Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Amended the Citizenship Act granting citizenship to illegal migrants from Christian and Buddhist communities – but not Muslims. The law was passed amid stiff criticism from the opposition, which called it discriminatory, and triggered a massive nationwide protest. Sources said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has been considering framing CAA rules for over a year without any progress. “Rules are necessary for the implementation of the Act. The rules are expected to specify the kind of documents that would be required to prove whether the applicant had come to India from these countries before the cut-off date (December 31, 2014). Most illegal immigrants have entered the country without any travel documents, ”the sources said. . And launched massive nationwide protests. Sources said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has been considering framing CAA rules for over a year without any progress. “Rules are necessary for the implementation of the Act. The rules are expected to specify the kind of documents that will be required to prove whether the applicant came to India from these countries before the cut-off date (December 31, 2014).