The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday issued the first set of certificates under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Fourteen people were granted Indian citizenship in New Delhi by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
The contentious law was passed in 2019 but its rules were notified this year in March.
“Home Secretary congratulated the applicants and highlighted salient features of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. Secretary Posts, Director (IB), Registrar General of India and senior officers were also present during the interactive session,” MHA said in a statement.
The contentious law has become a major issue during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) vowing to implement it after coming back to power for a third term. The party has even added CAA to its manifesto.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will grant citizenship to undocumented migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Once the CAA rules are issued, the Modi government will start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians – who had come to India till December 31, 2014.
Since its notification two months ago, the Opposition has flagged concern over the implementation of CAA, saying that it is discriminatory against Muslims.
However, BJP is steadfast in its plan with Home Minister Amit Shah saying that “no one can stop the implementation of CAA.”
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CAA now a reality, MHA issues first citizenship certificate to 14 people
