Govt notifies CAA rules, clears way for citizenship to minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan

CAA Rules in India: In a major development surrounding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, the Central Government has officially notified the rules for the implementation of CAA on Monday, March 11, 2024.

The act aims to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, including—Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who had entered India before December 31, 2014.

After the notification, the government will now begin granting Indian nationality to these persecuted non-Muslim immigrants.

According to a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) by the Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs, the applications for citizenship will be submitted completely in online mode, for which a web portal has been provided.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also stated that they will notify the rules under CAA-2019, called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, today. These rules will determine if a person is eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for a grant of Indian citizenship.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be notifying today, the Rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA-2019). These rules, called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 will enable the persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for grant of Indian citizenship. (1/2)

— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) March 11, 2024

Passed by both houses of Parliament in December 2019 and later getting the assent of the President, the CAA was an integral part of the BJP's 2019 manifesto. Home Minister Amit Shah said on several occasions that the CAA rules would be notified before the general elections this year. However, there have been a anti-CAA protests in several parts of the country, with over a hundred people losing their lives during that time.

The Manual on Parliamentary Work states that any legislation's rules must be drafted within six months following the president's assent, or else the government must ask the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Committees on Subordinate Legislation for an extension. The Home Ministry has been seeking extensions from the Parliamentary Committee since 2020 to draft the regulations, which came into fruition today.