Modi Government Notifies Citizenship Amendment Act

New Delhi, March 11 (TNA) The Narendra Modi-led NDA government on Monday evening issued a notification for the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA, which is now all set to be implemented just weeks before the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The CAA - makes religion a test of Indian citizenship, and has sparked fears it could be used to target religious minorities - was cleared by Parliament in December 2019 amid violent protests nationwide, in which over 100 people died, and fierce resistance from activists and opposition politicians.

Now that the notification has been issued, the central government can grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants - from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan - who came to India before December 31, 2014. A spokesperson for the Home Ministry said eligible individuals could submit applications in "a completely online mode". No other documentation will be sought from the applicants, one official said. This notification comes less than a month after Home Minister Amit Shah called the CAA "an act of the country" and said, “It will definitely be notified. CAA will come into effect before the election..."