Key Points:
- Rules for Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be taken up soon after the pandemic situation improves says Home Minister Amit Shah.
- The Citizenship (Amendment) Act has provisions to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians, and arrived in India before the end of December 2014.
NEW DELHI: Home minister Amit Shah has said that framing of rules for Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be taken up soon after the pandemic situation improves.
“The rules of the CAA are yet to be framed as such a massive process could not be carried out because of the corona. As soon as (Covid) vaccination starts and corona cycle breaks, we will consider it,” he said.
Shah was addressing the media in Bolpur, West Bengal on the second day of his visit to the state.
Shah also attacked the Mamata Banerjee government over infiltration from Bangladesh. “The TMC can never stop infiltration as it believes in the politics of appeasement. Only the BJP can stop it,” he said.
Only days back, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvarygya had said that unlike Assam, there will be no NRC (National Register of Citizens) exercise in Bengal, but the Centre will move to implement CAA in the state.
The process might get under way as soon as January or February next year, he had said.
Bengal’s ruling Trinamool has been steadfast in its opposition of CAA. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has clearly said that CAA will not be implemented in the state.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act has provisions to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians, and arrived in India before the end of December 2014.
(With inputs from agencies)