SRINAGAR: Amid tension in the Kashmir Valley over the Centre’s decision to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has called it an anti-Muslim move that seeks to create another partition and masks the alleged weakness of the BJP to face the voters in the upcoming elections.
The PDP president told reporters at the party office in Srinagar, ‘When we look at BJP’s report card of last ten years regarding unemployment, farmers, and the thought of taking the country backwards, they (BJP) are now trying their best to create a rift between Hindu’s and Muslims.”
Mufti further said, ”They (BJP) want the people to come out on the roads, for this they have been doing things like demolishing mosques, looking for an idol in mosque. Recently, the man who saved the people stuck in a tunnel, his house was also demolished. They tried everything and they have realized that Muslims are not coming on the roads like they expected and now with CAA they just want to provoke people.”
“Muslims need not to come on the roads as the case will be fought legally. People need to cast their vote after proper thinking,” said the former chief minister while urging the Muslims to understand the BJP’s alleged gameplan and not fall into its trap.
“77 years after partition BJP is still wedded to the concept of two nation theory of Hindu Mahasabha. To further their agenda they have thus implemented CAA to create another partition among our people,” Mehbooba has posted on X.
Meanwhile, National Conference vice-president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah said the BJP’s intention to use religion in the upcoming polls was obvious as the announcement was made a few days ahead of the election notification.
“The BJP’s targets have always been the Muslims. In the CAA also, Muslims have been singled out. It is not the BJP’s new politics. They have been doing it. But I am surprised that the BJP, which claims to be winning 400 seats, which said that they cannot lose after Ram Mandir, perhaps feel their position is weak,” Omar told reporters.
The Union Home Ministry on Monday notified rules for implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections schedule.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on multiple occasions, said that CAA rules would be notified ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to be held in April-May.
The CAA rules, introduced by the Narendra Modi government and passed by Parliament in 2019, aim to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants – including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians – who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
Following the passage of the CAA by Parliament in December 2019 and its subsequent Presidential assent, significant protests erupted in various parts of the country.
As per an official, the CAA law can be put into action with the issuance of MHA notification, allowing eligible individuals to obtain Indian citizenship.
The implementation of the CAA, which has been delayed for over four years, necessitates the formulation of its associated rules.
“The regulations are prepared, and an online portal is already set up for the entire process, which will be conducted digitally. Applicants will need to disclose the year of their entry into India without any travel documents. No additional documentation will be required from the applicants,” stated the official.
On December 27, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the implementation of the CAA cannot be halted as it stands as the law of the land. He had also accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misleading the public regarding this matter.
Speaking at a party meeting in Kolkata, Shah earlier emphasized that the BJP is committed to implementing the CAA. The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, has been opposing the CAA.
The assurance of implementing the highly debated CAA was a significant electoral agenda for the BJP during the previous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in West Bengal.
Leaders of the ruling party at the Centre view it as a credible factor contributing to the BJP’s ascent in the state
.As per the manual of parliamentary procedures, the guidelines for any legislation should have been formulated within six months of receiving the presidential assent, or the government should have sought an extension from the Committees on Subordinate Legislation in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.Since 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs has been regularly seeking extensions from the parliamentary committees to continue the process of framing the rules associated with the legislation.
Over a hundred individuals lost their lives either during the protests or due to police action subsequent to the passage of the law in Parliament. During the past two years, over 30 district magistrates and home secretaries across nine states have been authorized with the ability to confer Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians arriving from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan under the Citizenship Act of 1955. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs annual report for 2021-22, between April 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, a cumulative count of 1,414 individuals from non-Muslim minority communities originating from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan were granted Indian citizenship through registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Under the Citizenship Act of 1955, Indian citizenship by registration or naturalization is granted to non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in nine states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra. It’s notable that authorities in districts of Assam and West Bengal, both politically sensitive regions on this matter, have not been empowered with these citizenship-granting authorities thus far.