A senior government official told news agency PTI on Tuesday that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 rules are ready and would be implemented “much before” the Lok Sabha elections scheduled to take place this year.
“We are going to issue the rules for the CAA soon. Once the rules are issued, the law can be implemented and those eligible can be granted Indian citizenship,” the official said.
The Narendra Modi-led union government introduced and passed the CAA regulations 4 years ago intending to grant Indian nationality to non-Muslim migrants who were persecuted and who came to India until December 31, 2014, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.
According to the official, the rules would most likely be notified much before the announcement of general elections. “The rules are ready and the online portal is also in place and the entire process will be online. The applicants will have to declare the year when they entered India without travel documents. No document will be sought from the applicants,” the official stated.
Last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the CAA cannot be stopped since it is the law of the nation.
During a speech in Kolkata, Shah emphasized the BJP’s commitment to implementing the CAA. He also accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misinforming the people about the issue. Since the law’s introduction, the TMC leader has been against it.