Apply for citizenship under CAA once rules come, govt says but mum on timeline
Item
Title
Apply for citizenship under CAA once rules come, govt says but mum on timeline
Description
NEW DELHI: Discounting speculation about a rethink on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) a day after the three farm laws were repealed by Parliament, the government on Tuesday said the prospective beneficiaries of CAA can apply for citizenship once the CAA rules are notified. It, however, did not disclose any timeline for notifying the CAA rules. In reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha, MoS(Home) Nityanand Rai also said the government had also not taken any decision to prepare the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), the official coinage for an all-India National Register of Citizens or NRC. Widespread protests and sit-ins against CAA and NRC were held in several parts of the country between December 2019 and March 2020. CAA was enacted in December 2019 but the rules are yet to be notified. The government has sought multiple extensions from committees of subordinate legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, with the latest one due to expire on January 9, 2022. Meanwhile, the home ministry informed the Lok Sabha that 1.33 crore Indian nationals were living in foreign countries. Also, 1.11 lakh Indians gave up their Indian citizenship till September 30 this year, up from 85,248 in 2020, but lower than 1.44 lakh in 2019, 1.34 lakh in 2018 and 1.33 lakh in 2017. As many as 10,645 foreign nationals applied for Indian citizenship between 2016 and 2020, of which 7782 were Pakistanis. Also, 4,177 applicants were granted citizenship between 2016 and 2020.
Publisher
The Times of India
Date
2021-12-01
Coverage
India