Only 8 Applied For Citizenship Under CAA: Assam CM

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Guwahati
• Jul 15, 2024
• 284

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that four months after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules were notified, only 8 people in the state have applied for citizenship under it. 

He said how anti-CAA protest leaders tried to scare people by saying that up to 50 lakh illegal immigrants could get citizenship under the amended law.

Actually, citizenship is considered a sensitive issue in Assam. Movements against outsiders have been seen here for decades. In 2019, when there was a massive anti-CAA movement in Assam, five people were killed. The central government has brought the CAA law to expedite the granting of citizenship to persecuted minorities in neighboring countries. Assam has a large population of Hindu Bengalis who have settled in the state at different times in history. Assam has also seen large-scale illegal migration of Bengali Muslims from Bangladesh.

On Monday, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma held a press conference and said, only 8 people have applied for citizenship under CAA. Out of them, only 2 have come for the interview. On the massive protests against CAA in Assam, Sarma said that we thought that at least two-three lakh people would apply for citizenship under the amended citizenship law, but only two people have come for the interview. 

Sarma said, people leading the anti-CAA protests gave figures that 30 lakh and 50 lakh illegal immigrants will get citizenship from the law. But now look at the numbers.

He also mentioned the death of five people during anti-CAA protests in 2019. Himanta said, Hindu Bengalis say that they are Indians and they have documents to prove their Indian identity. They are saying that if needed, they will fight a legal battle, but will not apply under CAA.

Assam CM said, when I contacted many Hindu Bengali families why they are not applying under CAA, they said me that we are confident about our Indian citizenship and have entered India before 1971 and do not want to apply under CAA, rather we want to prove our citizenship in a legal battle in the court.

Himanta said that it has become clear that the members of the Bengali Hindu community who are not included in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not apply for citizenship under CAA. 

Assam had conducted the National Register of Citizens (NCR) under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the list of which came in 2019. The names of about 19 lakh people were not in the updated NRC list proving citizenship.

Is the Assam government withdrawing the cases registered under CAA against Hindu Bengalis? On this question, the CM said, this is misleading. We are not withdrawing any case. We are just saying that first they should apply on the portal. Because even if you register a case, there will be no result, because they are entitled to citizenship.

When asked whether the cases in the Foreigners' Tribunal will be withdrawn, the Chief Minister said that the cases may have to be stopped for a few months. Himanta Biswa Sarma said, the action of the Foreigners' Tribunal will have to be stopped for two-three months and people will have to be given a chance to apply for citizenship under CAA.

He said, "Anyone who has come to India before 2015 (as per CAA) has the first right to apply for citizenship. If they do not apply, we will file a case against them. This is a statutory direction. We will expel those who have come after 2015."

Regarding the problems being faced by people due to lack of Aadhaar card, Himanta said, they are trying to solve this problem by coordinating with the center. Himanta mentioned an incident in which a girl could not join a top auditing firm because she did not have an Aadhaar card. 

He said, a girl from Assam lost a job opportunity in Deloitte because she did not have an Aadhaar card.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is also known as CAA. This Act provides for granting citizenship to people of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian religions coming to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. 

People of these six communities, who have entered India before 31 December 2014, will not be considered illegal migrants and will be granted Indian citizenship. The purpose of this Act is to provide citizenship to those religious minorities who are facing religious persecution in their country.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament in December 2019, it was approved by the Lok Sabha on 11 December 2019 and by the Rajya Sabha on 12 December 2019. 

After this, the then President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to this bill on 12 December 2019, making it a law. The Act was officially notified on 10 January 2020, making it effective.

Those who support CAA consider it a relief for religious minorities who have faced religious persecution in their native countries. While those who oppose this act consider it against the secular principles of the Indian Constitution