Citizenship Amendment Act
According to a provision in the Citizenship Amendment Bill, non-Muslim religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, namely Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis, can get Indian citizenship after 6 years of residence in India instead of 12 and without proper documents.
What is CAA
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act provides for the granting of Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to certain religious communities (Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Christian, Buddhist and Parsi) from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Muslims are not included in it
National Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, The ‘Citizenship (Amendment) Act-2016’ amended the 1955 Act, whereby those who crossed the border into India from these Muslim countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan – would not be treated as illegal immigrants.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, which provides for Indian citizenship to non-Muslim religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, was finally passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8, 2019. The provisions of this Bill are not against the Constitution. Therefore, the opposition to this bill from Assam and the opposition to granting citizenship on the basis of religion is baseless. It is the responsibility of the central government to preserve the tradition and culture of the people of Assam, and the government is committed to it, said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on this occasion.
The ‘Citizenship (Amendment) Act-2019’ has been passed in the Rajya Sabha. From Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The bill provides citizenship to people belonging to six communities – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis – who came to India before 31 December 2014. This bill is not limited to the state of Assam. It will be applicable for all the states and union territories of the country. Beneficiaries under this bill can live in any state of the country. For this, the ‘Citizenship Act-1955’ will be amended.
I want to unequivocally assure my fellow Indians that CAA does not affect any citizen of India of any religion. No Indian has anything to worry regarding this Act. This Act is only for those who have faced years of persecution outside and have no other place to go except India.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 16, 2019
History of CAA
According to the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, non-Muslim religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan i.e. Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis will get citizenship of India after 6 years of residence in India instead of 12 and without proper documents. “There is no other country other than India for the minorities of this country to go to. India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was also in favor of providing shelter to the minorities of neighboring countries.
Former Prime Minister Dr. Even Manmohan Singh, when he was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha during the BJP government, had taken the stand that the issue of oppression of minorities in Bangladesh should be considered with a liberal intention. India had also signed an agreement with Pakistan and Bangladesh to protect minorities.
Who opposed the CAA
The Citizenship Amendment Bill, first introduced in Parliament in 2016, was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The report was submitted by this committee. According to its recommendations, after the bill was again introduced in the Lok Sabha, the bill was approved by voice vote. Meanwhile, Congress, Trinamool Congress, Indian Union Muslim League, Rashtriya Janata Dal, MIM opposed the bill alleging that the bill was anti-constitutional.
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