The rules related to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) before the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) comes into effect, news agency ANI reported, citing sources, on February 27.
The CAA, which was passed by the Parliament in December 2019, has so far not been implemented. The law's passage was followed by nationwide protests, as critics called it discriminatory on grounds of religion and linked it to a potential nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise.
The sources who spoke to ANI said the CAA rules would notified to ensure the processing of Indian citizenship applications from persecuted minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Notably, the law provides for the granting of citizenship to minorities or those belonging to non-Islamic faith from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
Earlier this month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the CAA rules would be notified before the Lok Sabha elections.
"The CAA is a law of the country and its notification will definitely be issued. It will be issued before the polls. The CAA will be implemented before the elections. No one should have any confusion about it," Shah said on February 10, at the ET NOW Global Business Summit 2024.
The home minister, in a bid to address the concerns related to the law among the Indian Muslims, said its passage would not affect the citizenship of any Indian.
"Our Muslim brothers are being instigated on the issue of CAA... CAA can't snatch anyone's citizenship as the law does not have that provision," he said.
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