‘CAA rules may be notified before Lok Sabha election’
Reports say that the ruled under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) – under works ever since the Act was passed at the end of 2019 – are now ready and will be notified before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The CAA was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 10, 2019 and in the Rajya Sabha two days later after it was introduced in the upper house by Union home minister Amit Shah. The move drew heavy criticism from politicians and citizens alike for ostensibly singling out Muslims and excluding them from its purview.
The Act aims to provide citizenship to Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians purportedly fleeing persecution from India’s Muslim-majority neighbours; namely, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
The notable absence of Muslims from the provisions of the legislation, irrespective of whether or not they are being persecuted in their countries, as well as the unconstitutional nature of the legislation when coupled with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), had drawn widespread protests from thousands of citizens across the country.