The first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was issued to 14 people on Wednesday, nearly two months after the Centre notified the rules. Under CAA, minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan can acquire citizenship in India.
The notification of rules by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) on March 11 came four years after the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, or CAA, was passed by Parliament.
Wednesday saw 14 people get their hands on the citizenship certificates after their applications were processed online. The certificates were handed over by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
The CAA amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide a fast-track pathway to Indian citizenship for migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who belong to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian communities and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, due to facing religious persecution in their home countries.
The legislation has been a subject of intense debate and widespread protests across India.
In March, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government moved the Supreme Court against the implementation of CAA, arguing that the rules were "against the basic principle, fundamental principles of the Constitution".
Last month, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said that CAA will be repealed in the first session of Parliament after the INDIA bloc forms the government at the Centre.
