#Enables minorities from Pak, Bangladesh, Afghanistan facing religious persecution to avail Indian citizenship
ANS: The Central government announced on Monday the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, CAA, which enables minorities facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to avail Indian citizenship.
Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed the news in a social media post, stating that the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, have been notified.
The CAA aims to grant citizenship to minorities, including Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian communities, who have faced persecution on religious grounds in the aforementioned countries.
Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur emphasised that the CAA is not designed to strip individuals of their citizenship but to offer it.
He stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled another commitment by enacting the CAA, providing a path to Indian citizenship and rehabilitation for minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
The CAA, which received the President’s assent on December 12, 2019, is an integral part of the BJP’s 2019 manifesto. Applications for citizenship are to be submitted online through a designated web portal, according to a Home Ministry spokesperson.