CAA implementation 'guaranteed' across India within 7 days: Union minister
Union Minister Shantanu Thakur has claimed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be enforced across India within the next week. His statement came at a public gathering in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas on Sunday. Thakur said, "The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has been inaugurated, and within the next seven days, the CAA will be implemented across the country. This is my guarantee." He added the CAA will be enforced in every Indian state within a week.
Why does this story matter?
The CAA was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. It offers Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim minority refugees—Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians—from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014. The act sparked widespread protests after being passed by the Parliament and receiving presidential assent in December 2019. Notably, the CAA's implementation was a major poll plank of the BJP in the previous Lok Sabha polls and assembly elections in West Bengal.
Shah hit out at Banerjee for misleading people on CAA
Thakur's remarks came a month after Union Home Minister Amit Shah talked about enforcing the CAA at a meeting in Kolkata. On December 27, 2023, he said no one could prevent the CAA's implementation, as it is the law of the land. Shah had accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of spreading misinformation about the issue. He also stated that implementing the CAA was the BJP's commitment. To note, Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has been opposing the CAA.
Over 1,400 foreigners granted Indian citizenship under Citizenship Act
The Ministry of Home Affairs's 2021-22 annual report says between April 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, 1,414 non-Muslim minority foreigners were granted Indian citizenship through registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act, 1955. Over 30 district magistrates and home secretaries from nine states were authorized to grant Indian citizenship to these communities. However, as of now, authorities in none of the politically sensitive districts of Assam and West Bengal have been granted the powers.
